The Return of Maeve
by Anime Princess
Summary: Maeve was thought to be safe with Master DimDim; she was. But a spell cast by the Terrible Trio, Scratch, Turok, and Rumina cast her deep beneath the earth's crust. To save her, the crew must each undergo a test to prove their worth. Will they succeed?
1. Chapter 1

The Return of Maeve

**This is more emotionally descriptive and thought focused than dialogue focused. I'm trying to describe how the characters are feeling first and talking is second.**

**I don't own Adventures of Sinbad either Ed Naha does!!

It had been a very tiring day for him.

Not only was it the anniversary of Maeve's disappearance, but Scratch had tried to steal his soul once more.

What was worse, the devil had used his most secret fear; that Maeve had been captured and was vulnerable to the darkness that was trying to destroy him for some reason and wanted to use her as bait to get to him.

If it hadn't been for the Lady in Blue, Mala, he would have let Scratch take his soul. He would have gladly handed it over the goat hoofed devil of the West in return for Maeve's release.

It had been for naught.

It hadn't been Maeve; it was a she-demon witch posing as the woman he loved. When he had seen her demon face, he had wanted to gut her and himself for being so foolish.

Why hadn't he believed DimDim's words? Why hadn't he believed that Maeve was safe and sound with him in another realm?

If he had, his crew wouldn't have been captured and nearly eaten by a very large, hairy, demon spawned spider. This whole adventure was his fault. He didn't think he could look them in the eyes without feeling the guilt gnawing at his heart. For if it hadn't been for his ill advised haste, they wouldn't have followed him into the devil's lair…

He had smiled at Doubar when he had come to talk to him at the bow and that smile had lasted until he felt that he was alone; then the guilt reared up once more.

He knew this wasn't his fault, in his head, but he couldn't help but think that in a way it was. He had buried any and all memories and mentioning of Maeve for a full year; but at the first sign of her existence in this realm, he had dropped all things of importance and chased after it with a single mindedness that he had thought he had outgrown; that along with his boyish charms, optimism, and sensitivity to women of pretty much all ages.

Bryn being the obvious exception to the norm.

Bryn was another mystery he had to solve, and like Maeve's disappearance he had no idea about how to go about solving it.

To make it more frustrating, Bryn possessed a Rainbow bracelet like Tetsu and himself did; and like them she had no memory about how she came to be in possession of the bulky jewelry. She had no real memory outside their first meeting one year ago in fact.

She, like Maeve, had an innate magical ability that was unreliable at best and destructive at its worst. Unlike Maeve's though, she had no control over it. It seemed to have a mind of its own as Bryn could rarely summon it when she wanted to use it, but when she was cornered it manifested itself as yellow eye beams or bad weather most of the time.

There had been times though where the skill hadn't manifested itself badly, but at the same time it was a feeling Bryn had from deep within her and not Bryn consciously controlling it.

How he wished Maeve would return!

He missed her very much.

He wanted to pick a fight with her once more and watch as her eyes alighted with the beautiful fire of her passionate soul.

He wanted to watch as her cheeks flushed with life as they talked and flirted with one another.

He wanted to look deeply into her gorgeous brown eyes once more as they talked of miscellaneous no-nonsense things.

He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and never let her go ever again.

Most of all, he wanted to kiss her once more like he had done when he had defeated the Vorgon. He wanted to feel her warmth flood his heart and soul as their lips met in a clash of wills neither could win nor wanted to win.

Once she was gone, his world had become cold, discolored and drab.

It was like the warmth of life left him slowly without her near him. Even now, he could barely concentrate on their heading as he was so cold.

In those wonderful panicky hours, which he had thought he had found Maeve, great warmth had seared his soul and for the first time a hint of his old personality had reemerged from its hiding place deep within him.

Maybe he was selfish, but he wanted his Celtic Dream back!

He wanted her by his side once more.

For all time….

Forever.

As Bryn approached him with Dermott sitting nicely on her gloved arm, she smiled and asked, "Where to Sinbad?"

She lightly placed her hand, her left hand with the bracelet, over his own as she waited for his answer. They glittered lightly in the afternoon sun.

Sinbad returned the smile thinly as he replied, "We're heading towards Basra. I need to speak to Caipra."

Bryn tilted her head curiously to the side and asked, "Who is Caipra?"

Sinbad shuffled his weight from one foot back to an even weight on both feet and said, "She is DimDim's wife and a powerful sorceress. I am hoping she has news of possible places DimDim has been."

Bryn nodded in understanding and asked, "How come I've never met her?"

Sinbad opened his mouth to answer, and then closed it. The answer while simple was also hard on him to speak of. The reason was, because visiting Caipra would bring back memories of Maeve. Caipra was bound to ask him questions about Maeve's whereabouts, and he wasn't sure he could meet her eyes without bursting into tears.

He had felt like such a failure when they had lost DimDim two years ago. Facing Caipra had been torturous because he had to acknowledge the fact that he had failed. He had failed to save DimDim, and now he had to go and face her again. Only this time, it was about Maeve.

Bryn's eyebrows furrowed as she asked again, "Sinbad, why haven't I met her?"

He licked his lips and replied shortly, "Because I'm afraid to see her Bryn. I've failed in finding DimDim. It's been two years, and not even one hint since we received that letter from DimDim's old friend and his teaching stone. Even with DimDim contacting you twice this year, I'm still no closer to finding him!"

Bryn blinked at his words. This was a side of the captain that she had never seen before. She wondered if anyone else had seen this side of him. Doubar more than likely has, and perhaps, even the famous Maeve had.

She'd have to ask Firouz and Rongar about it, but for now she had to calm Sinbad down, "Sinbad, if this Caipra is such a powerful sorceress, wouldn't she have been able to bring DimDim back if it were an easy thing to do?"

He knew what she was trying to do, and a small portion of him respected the effort, but the larger part of him did not.

He was Captain Sinbad the Sailor! The legendary sea captain, who fought mythical beasts with his sword and wits, challenged great sorcerers and still managed to deliver merchandise to willing merchants and vendors on time and receive kisses from maidens without fail.

He wasn't supposed to fail at anything! Yet here he was, two years later and no closer to finding his beloved teacher and friend.

He nodded though and said, "You're right, but I still feel responsible. I killed Turok yet his magic still holds sway upon DimDim's prison and I can't get to him."

Bryn blinked at the name. That was one she had never heard of.

_Who was Turok? Was he a sorcerer? Was he dark? He must be, for Sinbad killed him and alluded to the fact that Turok caused DimDim to vanish._

She asked, "Did Turok's magic send him away?"

Sinbad shook his head and replied, "No, Elbus' did, but Turok summoned Elbus to destroy us all."

Bryn's eyes widened.

To summon a demon was powerful magic. Something even she knew from her nearly all forgotten memories. It wasn't something concrete in her mind, but more of an ingrained feeling or memory. How she knew, she wasn't sure, but she did and she wasn't going to question it.

"This Turok must have been powerful for his magic to hold the demon here after his death."

Sinbad sighed and said, "Yes, he was a powerful sorcerer, but I killed Turok later after Elbus had sent DimDim away."

"Oh."

She really didn't know what to say after that, so she smiled at him in support and said, "Well, I'm sure that if this Caipra is as powerful as you say, she'll have something for us to go on."

Sinbad smiled back in agreement.

Once she was gone, his smiled vanished and he only prayed that she was right.

Slowly, the winds began to pick up speed as if someone was encouraging the ship to reach one of its home ports as quickly as possible.

Sinbad sighed and released his fears. The strong winds of the seven seas could always calm him down, yet it was the stars that were beginning to shine through the cloudless sky that really made his spirits rise.

Perhaps it was due to the stories DimDim had told him as a young lad, but to him they represented all the heroes of the world gone by. For such powerful spirits couldn't be smothered by death, and the great Allah, had brought their spirits to the heavens to shine down upon those who fought for the side of good as a guide to their next great adventure.

That and the silence helped calm him too.

As the stars gained power above the Nomad, Doubar approached his brother to change shifts, but hoped to talk to him first.

When he silently walked up to the tiller, he was somewhat amazed that Sinbad hadn't already spotted him. But, as he got closer, he realized that Sinbad's gaze was cloudy and searching the skies above them in thought.

He wondered what his litter brother was thinking about. Was it Scratch? Was it Maeve? Or was it even the woman who had saved his life, their mother, Mala?

He was tempted to ignore the questions in his head, but he had come to realize silently to himself, after they had safely reached the Nomad, that perhaps silence hadn't been the best way to go about Sinbad's depression when Maeve had vanished. His little brother had always held his feelings inside when they bothered him, but eventually he had always talked them out.

It had been a year and yet not one word passed his lips about the Celtic sorceress that had caught his attention so greatly. Sinbad wasn't a stranger to the pain of loosing a loved one, but this one, Maeve, seemed to have hit him the hardest. Perhaps it was because Sinbad had truly, honestly, and deeply cared for her, and hadn't had to courage to tell her.

Either way, he had to speak up. He didn't like the fact that his little brother was stewing in his own sadness without help, and was going to thump him good if he didn't say something!

"Nice evening isn't it little brother?"

Sinbad's sea blue eyes sharpened at his voice, and a tiny smile grew on his bearded lips as he said, "Yes indeed big brother, yes indeed."

Doubar settled against the side railings and turned his gaze upwards. Dermott was chirping softly above them and gazing at them like he was listening in on the conversation.

Doubar snorted at this.

A year or two ago, before he met Maeve, he would have scoffed at the idea of a smart animal, but experience had taught him and the others that Dermott was no mere animal. He was a sorceress' familiar and they were smart!

At first it had frightened him, but now he was used to it. In fact, Dermott's presence was actually comforting. It was an unusual comfort to know that he was always looking out for the crew, and watching out for Sinbad most of all.

He cleared his throat and asked lightly, "What are you thinking about little brother?"


	2. Chapter 2

The Return of Maeve 

Part 2

**This story will give hints to another story, my King Arthur one farther along. In fact, the Epilogue of the KA fanfic, The Unification of Avalon and Briton, also mentions Maeve and Dermott.**

Sinbad's sharp sea blue eyes met his grayish blue ones and said in a nonchalant way with a shrug to match, "Nothing much big brother, just things."

Doubar frowned.

This was not starting out the way he had wanted it too. In the past, he had let Sinbad have his time to think, but when he asked Sinbad usually revealed his problems. Why did his brother think he had to hide his thoughts from him now? Did Sinbad think he had to portray the mighty captain with him? Or did he think that he wouldn't understand the pain he was going through?

Sure, Sinbad was the famous and mighty sea captain; who saved the day with the help of this legendary crew, but to him, he was still his little brother; and sometimes, still, a lost lad who proclaimed to the world his future as the 'Master of the Seven Seas'. His brother had nothing to prove to him, so why did it seem like he had too? Sinbad knew he could tell him anything, and if not him then Rongar or Firouz would provide the ear he needed.

Bryn, as well, even if she didn't understand why Sinbad needed to talk to her about such things; not that she couldn't understand, but she couldn't remember any life experiences on which to draw from for such conversations to have any real equality or credibility for Sinbad to take heart in.

His little brother wasn't alone in this world; even if it felt like it with Maeve not here to give him what-for.

Sinbad had cared greatly for the lass, and she returned it. They all could see it; even strangers could see the energy or magic between them but something always held the two back.

He might not know of a love like that, but he wasn't a stranger to loosing loved ones to the sea, family, lovers, and all in between not withstanding. He had seen many falls beneath the waves; Maeve being the most recent and hopefully the last one.

He leaned against the rail, crossed his arms across his chest, and asked with a raised brow, "Just things, little brother?"

Sinbad met his gaze squarely and echoed, "Just things."

Doubar sighed and said as he got into his brother's face, "Now see here little brother, I've given you your time to mourn and think, now I'm not about to let you wallow…"

Sinbad's ire, which had been on hold in respect to the guilt that plagued his soul, roared back into being and shoved the guilt aside like it was an awkward fighter in a battle as he asked with wide eyes full of surprise and negative exasperation, "…you've let me wallow?? Doubar, you don't know what you're saying!"

Doubar narrowed his eyes as he pursed his lips and asked in a mocking tone that got slightly louder as he reached the end due to his anger over this topic, "Oh I don't, do I? Well, excuse me for thinking your heart was torn open again by the trick that devil played on you! Excuse me for trying to help my little brother!"

Sinbad's eyes slammed shut.

The guilt was back with a vengeance.

This was another reason why he remained isolated from the others when it concerned his emotions. They all meant well, honestly, but this was **his** fight, **his** battle to overcome. If he couldn't beat this back by himself, how could he continue to be one of the 'side of the light's' champions in the war against evils like Scratch and even Rumina if she ever showed her face again? He couldn't accept their help as it would mean he had a weakness within him somewhere and that wasn't allowed.

Relying on others was all well and good, but if you couldn't get yourself out of a problem, you probably had no reason being there in the first place.

Sharing such weaknesses, sharing such pains of the heart, weren't going to heal them. They weren't going to make them magically disappear and he wished Doubar hadn't brought this up to being with.

He was conveniently forgetting how he had said these exact same things to Maeve in an effort to get her to open up when she was with them a year ago.

Perhaps, he had taken her aloofness to heart, but it was a wall between him and the world he had desperately needed with her disappearance.

With Maeve he could yell and scream and even fight with her, and know that at the end they'd be okay. It was how they interacted with one another. They might fight and disagree on nearly everything, but they always supported one another.

If he was being honest with himself, he could admit to being able to do the same with Doubar. His brother had always allowed him to talk things through with him if he had any problems; but, there came a time in a man's life where he had to take responsibility for his own choices and his own actions. If those actions gave way to a good consequence or ended in a bad one, it was still his fate in the end.

Doubar had given up so much of his life to be with him and watch over him. He had always felt guilty for this because his brother had given up finding love and having a family. His brother was very much a family man. He cared for him as a brother, uncle, and father all rolled into one. He was there to give him advice and even thump him on the occasions he had acted in the wrong. He held him as he cried as a baby and even sang him to sleep when he had nightmares of the shipwreck that stole their parents from them.

Never once denying him even as he, too, mourned and cried for their deaths.

His brother was everything to him, and he hadn't repaid his brother in the slightest to even begin to make up for all that he had dragged the elder of the two through.

This was probably why he didn't want to speak to his brother. The guilt from the last adventure was simply too much. His heart and soul couldn't take anymore of the hard decisions that were needed to continue their trip.

The guilt of pulling them into danger almost every single time they entered a port…

The guilt of taking Doubar away from his now non-existing family in Baghdad…

The guilt of taking Firouz away from Velda and a successful career as a Healer…

The guilt of taking Rongar from his sister and rightful place as Prince of his land…

The guilt of not being able to help Bryn regain her lost memories…

The guilt of losing DimDim and Maeve…

And…

Even the guilt of not going to see or visit Caipra in the past year.

He could always lie and tell the elder sorceress that they had been traveling farther and farther away from home ports in order to find any possible clues to DimDim's and Maeve's whereabouts, but he knew she wouldn't believe him.

Caipra's magic dealt in the knowing.

She knew things about people and places and that was simply it. She'd know the minute he arrived, why he had been absent from Basra for so long, and even more guilt hit him for it.

He blinked and the guilt flowed to a stop from his flooding heart as Doubar thumped him quite harshly on the head.

Instinctively, he dropped a hand from the tiller to rub the offended flesh and exclaimed, "Ahowe!!! What in Allah's name was that for??"

Doubar nearly cried at the blackness that swamped his little brother's eyes his soul.

Whoever said, _'The eyes are the windows to the soul'_, definitely knew what they were saying.

His little brother's soul was drowning in all the guilt that he had continuously heaped inside in order to **not** deal with them.

He had a feeling he knew what one part of the guilt was. He probably could guess about **all** of it, but one thing at a time.

First, he'd deal with his brother's guilt that dealt with him. He'd wing it after that.

Doubar lowered his hand and said, "Little brother, I can see that guilt coming a mile away from here, I think it's time someone absolved you of it, once and for all."

Sinbad shook his head in denial and said in an oath-like tone, "I don't feel any guilt Doubar. Why would you think that?"

Doubar thumped him, more lightly than before, and said in a light tone "Give me more credit than **that** Sinbad. Am I your brother, or not?"

He didn't allow Sinbad to answer as he added with a shrug, "And you're not going anywhere until we get this over with."

Sinbad's jaw dropped at that.

And what was worse?

Sinbad knew Doubar meant it as Doubar was the next one to take the tiller.

Which was right now!

He sighed and said, "Okay big brother, let's talk."

Doubar's eyebrow rose again as he said bluntly and without any hedging, "Sinbad, we've talked about this many times over the years, and still you have yet to believe me; you aren't to blame for me not have a wife and children."

Sinbad flinched.

Doubar pointed a finger at him and smiled lightly as he said encouragingly, "See? I told you, you don't believe me when I tell you that I don't feel like I'm missing anything by being with you out here on the open seas. I love being a sailor and traveling around the world. Our adventures are even better, most of the time."

Here the two chuckled. Some of those adventures had been really heart breaking; Doubar being transformed into a beast was one of the harder ones of late.

Before Sinbad could butt in, Doubar continued, "I don't feel like I'm missing out on family Sinbad because I've got my family right here!"

He placed his hand on his heart and then playfully messed up Sinbad's chin length golden blondish brown hair and added, "You, Firouz, Rongar, Bryn, Dermott, DimDim and Maeve and Caipra even! All of them are my family of the heart Sinbad; not one I would have to make through law and flesh."

He shrugged and allowed, "Sure, having a big lavish home in Baghdad, a doting wife and three rambunctious children would be nice, but it isn't something I loose sleep over."

He pointed at Sinbad again and teased, "One was enough to swear me off children for life!"

Sinbad laughed out right at that.

It was true, he had been a rather….er…active child, and as his caretaker when DimDim was otherwise occupied with his duties it was left to his older brother to care for him.

A duty Doubar still undertook with a large smile.

His brother loved him.

His brother did love him.

His brother will always love him.

So why was he constantly guilt-tripping himself when it concerned his brother's legacy?

Doubar seemed to answer him like they were telepathically connected, "You, Sinbad, you, are the child I always wanted when I grew to understand what fatherhood meant. I never wanted for another. I had you, so please…please…by the grace of Allah, let the guilt go. I don't blame you, so neither should you."

Sinbad choked back a sob as he released the tiller to a side man who just happened to be coasting down a nearby rigging, and enveloped his brother in a great big hug; one like he used to give to his brother every night before he went to bed with as a child.

**********

And somewhere deep inside, a scar was born out of the wound that lied deep within his heart. But there were still more left to close.

**********

Dermott, who had been their only true witness, fluttered his wings in approval. He had been worried about the two brothers for a long time now. He knew what Sinbad was going through, one brother to another, and felt inferior and terrible for not being able to offer anything more than an ear to his long time friend.

While he wasn't the younger brother of his siblings, in fact, he was the eldest; Dermott knew what it was like to feel the guilt of having another sibling cast off their previous life goals in order to make your life better.

His lot in life had been cast a long time ago in Albion; where vengeful Rumina had taken her selfish retribution out on his country and its people.

Rumina's mother, Brietta of Hibernia, had been a very powerful and highly placed Priestess of Avalon a long time ago before King Arthur ruled. She had been cast out of the order for trying to take control and kill the three High Priestesses' Morgawse, Isolde, and Elaine.

The three had thought that the banishment was the end of it, but Brietta' rage hadn't settled into peace. She had met and married Turok and birthed Rumina.

Rumina had wanted revenge for her mother being cast out of the order, and attacked the White Temple with all the she had. Unfortunately, he, in his hawk form, and his younger sister, Maevelynn had gotten in her way. Maeve was a powerful Journeyman Priestess and had matched Rumina spell for spell, for a while.

Then Rumina switched from spiritual magics to physical ones.

Maeve, then, had no training in such magics.

To hurt Maeve in ways even she hadn't imagined; Rumina cast a spell in Arabic that transformed him permanently into a hawk. She had vanished with laughs and mirth filling her heart.

Hour after hour, the High Priestesses of Avalon had tried and worked to undo Rumina's spell. Until finally, Morgawse had deduced that Rumina had used a balanced mix of spiritual and physical magics. She realized that only a balance of such magics could break the curse; or death to the one who cast it.

So, because she had felt responsible, his little sister had cast off her life and goals to travel the world in hopes of finding a sorcerer to break Rumina's curse.

They didn't find anyone.

But, when they found DimDim, or rather, he found them; he and Maeve had discovered that she had the ability to use both magics as fluently as Rumina did.

So the training began, and she hadn't turned back to Albion since.

So like Sinbad, he knew of the guilt that lay in his heart, and he was overwhelmed with glee that Sinbad had finally absolved it from his heart with Doubar's help.

It gave him hope that he, too, could do so when they found Maeve.


	3. Chapter 3

The Return of Maeve 3

The next two days were long and tiring. Not that the daily maintenance of the Nomad was tiring, but the memories and inner struggle he was going through was more exhausting than fighting all day against evil.

He knew it had been a long time in coming, but it had surprised him in its intensity. He had known of his love for Maeve, but he hadn't been aware of the depth and total devotion that his heart seem to have for her. It had astonished even him when he actually sat down and thought about his past actions.

When Maeve had been lost during the storm, he hadn't truly thought that he had lost her.

Maeve, while she was the physical embodiment of fire, was well suited to survive on water. From the very beginning, she had proved to the men of the Nomad that she wasn't some wallflower who lost her lunch once stepping on board.

To him, Maeve was simply swimming through the stormy waves, waiting very impatiently, for him to find her.

Independent she may be, Maeve was still romantic at heart when it came to chivalry; at the right time of course. Maeve was also the first one to throw his chivalry in his face, if he was using it at the wrong time.

But, as the waves grew bigger and his arms grew heavier, panic began to set in. He couldn't find her anywhere!

Then it all went black.

The next thing he knew, he was seeing and angel; Maeve.

Then his angel vanished in the dancing sunlight; leaving only Bryn in her place.

Bryn was in trouble; Maeve could handle herself, so he went and helped Bryn.

In the end though, his heart, which had been sustained with hope at finding her on the island somewhere or with one of the others, was torn to pieces with a simple message from DimDim; Maeve was with him and he was to go on without her.

He hadn't meant to do it, honest, but to survive with his heart intact after this last and biggest blow, he had changed. He didn't have the courage to confront his pain, so he held it deep within him and tried to forget it had even happened.

Bryn had been a nice distraction, but even then he couldn't really use her as such. Instead, he had tried to help her regain her memories; specifically about how she got her bracelet.

He had tried to spark a memory by talking about all he remembered of his own experience and even some of what Tetsu had told him, but nothing had grown from their talks.

She simply didn't recall anything.

After a while, he had stopped trying, but that too had given way to another problem; Bryn had grown attached and attracted to him.

To not deal with that, he had acted without really thinking about it.

Maeve had always despised lothario-like men, so he turned himself into one to show Bryn how unsuited for her he was.

Maeve and Bryn, despite their many differences, seem to have the same core beliefs amazingly enough; especially since Bryn couldn't remember **why** she believed such things.

So, woman after woman had fallen for his charms; charms he had sworn to never use in such ways, but he had and after a while he couldn't stop.

Not that he was addicted to female flesh, no, half the time he hadn't even bedded the female he was attracting to him, but he had made it look like he had to drive Bryn away. It had become a habit, and one he couldn't break so long as Bryn's eyes still tracked him wherever he went.

Perhaps, it hadn't been the best way to get rid of her interest in him, but it was the only thing he could think of without bringing up his 'unaccepted-by-him', at the time, love for Maeve.

By the time **it** happened, he had been so sure he had succeeded in turning her away from him, and then he had to go and screw it up.

He had kissed her.

Why he did so, even to today he wasn't sure why, but he did and her interest in him had soared to new heights.

And so the women fell to him once more in droves.

He could tell that the others were worried about him. He also knew, that they knew, why he was doing what he was doing, and Sinbad knew they didn't approve of his method, but at the same time they didn't have any other ideas for him to use.

Well Firouz had one, but he hadn't wanted to use it then, and even now he was hesitant to bring it up….

"_Sinbad, we need to talk." _

_Sinbad turned from his door, which he was about to enter for the night, and smiled at his childhood friend in curiosity._

"_Sure Firouz, what is it?"_

_Firouz ran his hand through his curly brown hair nervously and began with a stutter, "Well…ah…Sin…Sinbad, I was wanting to…to talk to y…you about Bryn."_

_Sinbad's curiosity had dwindled with every stuttered word that fell from Firouz's mouth. He didn't need to be clairvoyant to know what was about to come out of his brilliant friend's lips. Firouz didn't approve of how he was handling Bryn's interest in him. _

_He wasn't proud of what he was doing to the unknowning sorceress, but he wasn't sure what else to do to make her understand that he wasn't interested in her that way._

_He sighed and asked, "Yea, what is it Firouz?"_

_Firouz bit his lip, glanced to the right and then to the left to make sure that they were alone, and then said, "You have to stop using these women Sinbad. They don't deserve it, Bryn doesn't deserve, and…and…" _

_Sinbad frowned. _

_He had an inkling of what was about to come, and deep within his heart and soul, he cried out for his friend to stop, to not say her name, but Firouz didn't hear his wordless cry, and went on, "…and Maeve certainly doesn't deserve what you are doing to her memory Sinbad. You need to tell Bryn how you really feel for her and Maeve."_

_Sinbad's face froze. _

_His heart thumped erratically in his breast._

_His breath became short and heavy._

_Darkness blurred around his vision._

_Her stern face frowning at him._

_**Maeve**__._

_That was all it took to make him swim in despair; the mere mentioning of her name had sent waves of heartache and destruction through his floundering soul._

"_Sinbad! __**Sinbad! SINBAD!!!!!!!!!**__" cried a voice, each time more and more panicked and guilty._

_When his vision had returned, Sinbad found himself laying dazedly on the floor in the hallway with Firouz kneeling beside him anxiously calling his name and dabbing his forehead with a piece of torn cloth._

"_Are you all right Sinbad?" _

_Sinbad gazed at his friend and saw the heartache and misery there. Sinbad knew Firouz hadn't meant to cause him any harm. Firouz was, in fact, one of the last people to cause anyone harm, and simply nodded his head._

_No, he wasn't all right, but Firouz looked so horribly guilty that Sinbad didn't have the heart to be honest just then. Besides, Firouz was right. He __**should **__tell Bryn about Maeve and finally reveal his hidden feelings about the fiery woman, but he couldn't. _

_If simply hearing her name had caused this…_

_Talking about her would kill him._

_So he hadn't. _

Sinbad's thoughts quieted as he looked at the familiar port of Basra as it came into view.

Firouz hadn't mentioned Maeve's name again, and a part of Sinbad had thanked him for it.

But now, after the past few days, he had come to realize that by denying himself from feeling the pain, he had made it all the more easier for him to fall into those horrible habits that Maeve and he had so hated about other Lotharios. It had made it easier for him to embrace the darkness that resided in every human, and it took Scratch nearly getting his soul for him to finally admit it.

Pain was apart of every person's life. No one could escape it and everyone felt it. Some felt it more than others, true, but all people suffered at the hands of Mother Earth, Fate, Destiny, ect…it was just that simple.

By denying it, he had stilted his growth as a good person. He had hardened his heart and in turn denied who he really was. By not dealing with his pain, he had created a whole in his heart where all his pain could grow. Once there it festered like an infected wound, and slowly bit by bit it had been killing him.

And by denying it, he had let the darkness slowly kill his light, his soul.

Perhaps, he should thank that evil devil the next time he saw him, for Scratch, while not meaning to, had forced Sinbad to see the error of his mistakes; Mala had helped too. Sinbad now understood his heart more. He understood that moving past the pain made a person stronger and more able to deal with other evils, and in doing so was able to become a stronger champion of the Light.

Now he wasn't anywhere near finished absolving himself of his pain, but there was a new scar or two and his heart of well on the way to being fully mended.

"It's good to be home isn't Sinbad?"

Sinbad smiled.

As the sun rose and fell, Firouz was always on call it seemed, and like his thoughts from before, he turned to his friend curiously and said, "Yes, it is."

Firouz came up beside his friend and said sheepishly as he rubbed his hand through his hair, "I'll admit, I'm more anxious at meeting Caipra properly than simply befriending her through you and….er…."

Sinbad placed a hand on the inventor and said with a smile, "Maeve."

Firouz looked amazed at him.

Sinbad nodded at the look, returned his gaze to Basra, and said, "You were right along Firouz. I was being a jerk in the way I was acting, but I guess, back then, I didn't want to acknowledge what everyone else already knew. You were right, Bryn and Maeve deserved better from me."

Firouz shook his head and protested, "You obviously weren't ready. I shouldn't have pushed so…"

Sinbad turned back to him and allowed, "Perhaps not, but the truth is Firouz, I was being a stubborn bastard and I needed that shove even if I wasn't ready for it. I was getting to out of control with all those women, and once I…er….fainted I realized that you were right, and I did calm down a bit didn't I?"

Firouz nodded and said, "Yes, that's true, but all the same Sinbad, you weren't ready to be confronted with Maeve's memory, and I shouldn't have thrown her in your face. I imagine just thinking about her disapproval had done that to you."

Sinbad winced and said, "Actually, I hadn't even thought it through that far before I collapse. All I could see was her face and that frown, and that was it. I went down."

Firouz smiled impishly at him and said teasingly, "Well, she did have you wrapped around her little finger Sinbad."

Sinbad rolled his eyes but didn't refute it. He was tired of denying his feelings, and he had learned the hard way about how denial could harm him more than acceptance ever could.

So he didn't, and it was refreshing to feel the love and life flow through him again.

Firouz looked out at the port and said, "Are you going to guide us in, or will Doubar?"

Sinbad smiled and said, "I think Doubar can handle it."

Firouz tilted his head and pondered out loud, "Do you think she knows we're coming?"

Sinbad shrugged and said, "I don't know, but Caipra's power is of the knowing."

At Firouz's questioning look, Sinbad explained as Bryn came closer with Dermott resting on her gloved hand, "Caipra's powers are to know things. She knows about people and lands and magic. I wouldn't be surprised if she knew we were coming, but all the same, I don't think she'd mind a visit from us."

Bryn asked, "Do you think she'd be able to tall me anything about my past if her powers are in knowledge?"

Sinbad turned to her and answered with a shrug, "I don't know, possibly."

As Doubar yelled to drop anchor, Sinbad ended, "It couldn't hurt to ask, could it?"

Dermott screeched and fluttered his wings. He was ready to fly, but Bryn held him down by his leather strings.

Sinbad said, "You can let him go, he knows the way and he can take care of himself."

Bryn frowned but released the strings.

Something about this place, or perhaps it was Caipra herself, caused her to feel anxious and frightened. What would she find here? Who would she find here?

And the most important question of all…

Did she really want to know?


	4. Chapter 4

The Return of Maeve 4

She felt change upon them.

It was a heaviness that settled once more upon her old and weary shoulders. The knowledge that she gathered through the winds of this earth were a tiresome duty, but one she did faithfully while still living.

She was no clairvoyant, but her knowledge was clear and presently needed for Sinbad and the crew's next journey.

She felt the pressure shift slightly off her shoulders and knew Sinbad had arrived. The heaviness always felt different when someone of great importance to the world was near.

Sinbad was one such person.

Maeve was too.

Bryn as well; and even Rumina was one though her importance was more burdening than releasing.

She would tell Sinbad all she knew, and hope that he was clearer of mind and heart so as to succeed in his next challenge. She would have to hope that they **all** were clear of mind and heart.

This journey wasn't dangerous so much as it was a test of their strength of character, and it would hurt yet help them all.

All she had to do was wait; a job she was unfortunately all to experienced in.

Sinbad sighed and tilted his head up to look unseeingly into the Basra sky. The day was calm, cool, yet sunny and the warmth of the sun rained down upon him in an attempt to hold off the darkness of his mind.

He breathed in the familiar scents of food carts, humans living so close together, and tamed animals and grinned despite himself. Lover of the sea he might be, Master too, but lands of all kinds, Baghdad and Basra especially, held a special place in his heart. He loved to watch people come and go about their personal businesses and lives. It was like looking through a window and seeing how another person lived their life.

Sometimes, when he was a younger man, and the life he had chosen grew to be too much for him to handle, he had, at one time, imagined what life could have been like if he had grown up, married, and had become a noble of Baghdad. Sometimes he liked what he imagined; others had him shaking his head at the silliness of his thoughts. True, it would have been a much gentler and less chaotic life style, but he wouldn't have made all the friends, and yes even the enemies, he had now.

He didn't enjoy the harsh life he had been following as of late; the killing of others had been killing him too, and yet he hadn't stopped himself from taking those lives.

He had grown used to seeing blood licking at the edge of his sword and spattering his face…

He had grown used to hearing the light within their bodies fading as he ended that life…

He had grown used to smelling the blood, flesh, and death as they went about their duty…

He had grown used to tasting the metallic tinge of death that had grown with each sin he made…

He had grown used to feeling the pain, and he had welcomed it for it blocked out the heartache of missing Maeve…

Seeing the demon within the mirror, real or imagined, in Scratch's lair had been the jolt he had needed to stop his downward spiral of death, darkness, and despair. But with his admissions' of guilt, came the newest nightmares he couldn't escape from.

Before he had dreamt of Leah and Talya and other close friends either dying or blaming him for the deaths of their loved ones.

When Maeve vanished, she was added to his nightmares, and she blamed him for not saving her from the waves that drown her.

Now, Maeve still haunted him, but his dreams were filled with the dying cries of those he had thoughtlessly killed whilst fighting them.

He didn't know how to absolve this from his heart and soul, and some part of him didn't feel like he should. A part of him felt like he deserved this pain for the pain he had brought onto others…

He was brought out of his musing by a familiar hand on his shoulder.

He glanced to his left and smiled at the dark moor who patted his shoulder in an attempt to get his attention. Rongar was a good friend, who kept the secrets of the others faithfully, and out of all his friends, Doubar and Dermott on occasion excluded, Rongar was the one he talked too.

Rongar was patient and a wonderful listener.

A skill he had developed when his tongue had been cut out. A jolt of pain hit his heart as he remembered how Rongar had left his sister to sail with them once more. He felt guilty that Rongar left his sibling like he had; he could never imagine life without consistently seeing Doubar every day.

He admired Rongar's ability to stay so far from his sister and still be happy where he was. He was sure he couldn't do it; and in a way their silent moor was stronger than he was.

Rongar smiled at him, waved his hand around to encircle the crew, placed his hand on his heart and then placed his dark hand on Sinbad's own chest.

Sinbad understood and smiled.

_Family is where the heart is…_

Rongar seemed to understand what he had been thinking about, and he was glad that Rongar understood. Rongar hadn't blamed him for his choice to leave his sister behind, and like Doubar had said, it wasn't his choice to make for the others.

He glanced down at Rongar bandoleer of throwing knives and flinched a little. Rongar's skills were as dangerous as his own, and yet Rongar's knives hadn't seen the amount of blood his sword had seen. Perhaps it was because he had learned not to aim for fatal parts of the body, but parts of the body that would damage and put down instead of killing.

But, at the same time, he knew Rongar wasn't innocent to lives lost due to his actions. None of them were, but he didn't seem to be struggling like he was.

He nodded at Rongar, patted the moor's shoulder and said to the crew who was watching him curiously, "Let's go, Caipra's waiting for us."

As he walked beside the moor, Rongar cast him a sideways glance and smiled at him.

He returned it because the smile was honest and friendly. Rongar was trying to help him in some way, but he didn't understand the moor's silent words. If only he had mental powers to read his mind, perhaps Rongar would have some sort of divine wisdom to impart onto him?

Then he remembered something he had learned from Mustafa about him and Rongar's past….

He had just met the man; he was silent, bland, and zombie-like. He hated to agree with the bratty Prince, but Rongar wasn't quite what he was looking for as a member of his crew. He had just given his awkward farewell, when Doubar had yelled his name. Shocked and a little scared, he had spun around just in time to see a knife fly, but he had felt no pain. Not a second later, and an assassin and or a spy of Turok's lay dead at their feet with one of Rongar's knives' in his chest.

Rongar had killed the man with no feelings on his face at all. He had done it to protect him; at least that's why he thought Rongar had done what he did.

So, Rongar could kill without remorse when it was to protect others.

So could he.

Rongar could kill in self-defense.

He could too.

The difference lay in the fact that Rongar hadn't let his anger cloud his judgment like he had. He had to learn to relax in battle once more.

To do, as Mala had said, "Heart, brain, and then the sword."

And with a smile and another pat on Rongar's chest to show he had grasped what Rongar had wanted him to learn, he said, "Thank you Rongar."

Rongar's smile grew in sincerity and somewhere inside another part of his heart scarred over and another dark spot faded away to let in the light.

Caipra sighed in relief as the pressure on her shoulders decreased just a little bit more.

Sinbad was close and the pains of his heart were slowly but surely being healed thanks to the help of his friends.

Then she glanced up to her window and from outside flew in a hawk very familiar to her.

'_Hello Dermott, it's has been a while.'_ She greeted with a small nod and a soft smile.

Dermott shifted his weight from talon to talon and replied, _'Yes, Madam, it has.'_

Caipra rose from her chair and said, _'Sinbad is close.'_

Dermott didn't bother with answering the sorceress; she hadn't asked for she knew her words to be true.

Caipra went to stand by her hearth and waited to open the door at the right moment as she said, _'Soon, soon his heart will be whole once more.'_

'_I dearly hope so Lady.'_ Dermott whispered into her mind as he screeched and the door opened with a single thought from Caipra, DimDim's wife.

Sinbad walked a bit faster than the others and found that he walking was side by side with Bryn. She too had a nervous tic about her eyes.

He wanted to ask her what was bothering her, but he wasn't sure he could handle the back questions she'd no doubt ask him about his last visit to the old sorceress. He had made some progress, but he wasn't that healed-not yet.

So, he remained silent, but gave his support by quickly grabbing her left hand with his right, gave it a tiny, quick squeeze, a smile and turned back to the busy streets of Basra's magical district.

He didn't see the surprise in her eyes, nor the small smile she gave to him. If he had, he might have jumped in nervousness, for she had the same interested glint in her eyes once more, but it was different too.

As they reached the familiar door of DimDim's wife, the orb upon its wood glowed gold, lit up his face and then without even a knock from them to announce themselves it silently swung open.

Sinbad grinned and entered with a small smile upon his face. Caipra's introduction hadn't changed.

Bryn gasped at the magical workings and gulped as she entered. She could feel the magic within this woman, and knew her to be a formidable opponent even if she was old.

Doubar and Firouz eyed one another in nervousness. It was always the same with them and magic, but they also knew Caipra was a good honest woman, and they entered with smiles on their faces.

Rongar simply gazed about for enemies and calmly walked in. He knew that no one would come for them here, but it never hurt to be prepared.

The door swung silently shut behind him.

Sinbad came to an abrupt stop as he met the wise, darkly warm eyes of the old woman.

She met his gaze without fear and he was delighted about it.

To him, it meant that he hadn't fallen so far from grace that she feared the monster that he had almost became; the monster that still had claws within his heart.

She sent him a smile and said in her low tones voice full of warmth and friendship, "Hello, Sinbad."

He couldn't meet her warm gaze.

He couldn't meet those questions that floated within them for so long.

He dropped his gaze and returned, "Caipra, how have you been my lady?"

The crew watched silently as the old woman, DimDim's wife and by extension a bit of a second mother to Sinbad by way of marriage walked lightly up to their friend and captain and placed her hand under his chin.

She knew he feared her reactions to what he had became.

She knew he feared her anger for not finding DimDim yet.

She had seen the tears and nightmares that plagued him so much in the night.

She knew this and much more, and she cared not that he stumbled into the darkness. What was more important was that he was climbing his way back up into the light.

She waited patiently for the sea blue eyes to meet her own and said softly to him but firmly, "Sinbad, every person has darkness within them. It takes a strong person to hold back the darkness within…"

Sinbad felt a jerk in his throat. She was disappointed in him. He wasn't strong enough to hold back the pulsing darkness of his heart. He knew she blamed him for not finding DimDim yet. How could she not? He was a failure and he knew it. He was weak of heart and now DimDim would probably never be returned to his wife.

Caipra had every reason to be angry and disappointed in him. He couldn't blame her either.

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down in his effort to stop the tears from falling from his eyes.

She smiled at him, for she knew his thoughts.

She softly ran her hand down his stubble cheek and ended with pride in her voice and a soft kiss to his cheek, "…but it takes an even stronger heart to turn away from it's allure once the darkness has grabbed them. Sinbad, you are forgiven for whatever it is you think you've done wrong by me. I place no blame upon you."

Sinbad jerked his head up and stared at her in amazement.

She didn't blame him?

At all?!?

Why ever not?

She smiled and said, "Sinbad, you weren't the one to send DimDim away. He is locked away with powerful magics that only he and I can barely puncture through to feel each other. He is well enough and so am I. I know you'll find him when the time is right."

She ended with an amused smirk, "Everything happens for a reason, Sinbad."

Sinbad stared into her eyes. They weren't the demeaning ones he had seen in his dreams so many times at night. Her eyes were full of warmth and love for him, he who had fallen from grace.

Yet she still seemed to favor him. Could it be that she knew the reason why he fell and understood because she too had felt like he had? But why hadn't she fallen? Why hadn't she given up hope of his return like he had? Was his faith in DimDim's magic so weak that he doesn't believe in magic anymore like the idiots of Baghdad's past?

He looked deep within as he close his eyes.

Alarmed, Doubar made to ask him what was wrong, when Caipra's raised hand warned him off.

Worriedly, Doubar did as she silently ordered him to do.

He waited. He hadn't waiting.

Sinbad looked deep within himself. Did he lose hope in magic and therefore DimDim and Maeve? No, no, he hadn't. What he had done was push it all to the side and ignored the pain that they both have caused him by being gone.

Subconsciously he had placed the blame of their disappearances on them. Like he thought they had wanted to leave him here and in constant pain.

Now that he was challenging his demons, he could see through their illusions.

DimDim and Maeve hadn't left him to harm him; they left him because someone **else** wanted to hurt him. He understood that now; now he was ready to fight those who had harmed them in an effort to steal his heart and soul.

He met her gaze and said, "I understand now."

She nodded seriously and said, "Good, because your next mission is to save Maeve from her demonic prison built by Rumina, Scratch, and…Turok."


	5. Chapter 5

The Return of Maeve 5

Caipra watched with sympathetic and knowing eyes as Sinbad and the crew's faces widened in both shock and horror. She knew exactly how they were all feeling. It had been bad enough to know that Rumina and Scratch had joined forces in their effort to kill and claim their souls, Sinbad's most of all; to recognize Turok's rebirth on any level was a terrible feeling to be hampered down with.

While the crew never met the black sorcerer face to face, his dealings in trade had been felt heavily by all who made their living by trading goods at the market.

Truthfully, Turok's magic had made him a powerful merchant and a wealthy one. So wealthy in fact, he had assumed that his daughter, Rumina, would be Prince Casib's wife insuring Turok's lawful and legal control of Baghdad. When that did not happen, he kidnapped the princess to be, which brought the crew and Turok into battle against one another.

Before, the crew, individually had not been against him as Doubar had been in jail, Sinbad had been missing, Firouz had been a semi-successful inventor, Rongar had been a wandered for higher with his now deceased friend, Mustafa, and Maeve and Dermott had been living on the Isle of Dawn with DimDim.

Even then, their lives had been affected by Turok's power and magic. With his ability to control the winds of the earth, his ships made it to ports faster therefore allowing him to establish the average maximum costs for all his trading goods which in turn affected how other businesses established theirs; such as taverns, repair shops, cloth stalls, fruit venders, and blacksmiths.

With such high prices for even some of the simpler things of life, the costs of the other businesses rose significantly. This in turn, affected how men were paid and how much a family could afford to spend during a month's allowance in copper or silver.

Very rarely did a peasant make a gold coin by their own labor.

Baghdad's poor population suffered a very large increase during Turok's last few years amongst the living. Not that neither the man, nor his vengeful daughter thought about those seen as inferior to them. They loved it that those under them suffered to make them all the richer and more powerful.

In fact, only Maeve had met the man before Sinbad had beheaded him on the Isle of Tears nearly two years ago, and that was only because she had witnessed a magical battle between Turok and her dearly missed husband.

She waited patiently as the group gathered their wits back.

Sinbad felt like one of Doubar's fists had punched him in the solar plexus. He felt the air explode from his lungs, and his knees quivered with weakness.

Distantly he realized that he was not breathing, and attempted to make his lungs work once more.

As the colored stars and wavy blackness edged themselves into his sea blue vision, he blinked rapidly and took in four great lung fills of much needed, life giving air.

With some satisfaction, the black inkiness and tiny stars vanished which allowed him to see his friends eyeing him worriedly and with a barely concealed fear in their eyes.

He understood that fear that grew within their eyes.

Just thinking about Turok being alive again sent shivers of fear and cold chills down his back. It wasn't the thought of him being alive again that caused this fear within him, he knew, but it was the fact that Maeve and the crew, his friends and his family, would be in even more danger because of his actions against the evil man.

Rumina he could handle. She was such a flirt and liked to play with her food. All he had to do was act interested or play her games and all of Rumina's hard and thought out plans fell to pieces. Rumina, for all her evilness, was an honorable woman in terms and deals.

Turok on the other hand was dangerous and cold. This he had gleamed from his discussions with DimDim. Turok, once a plan was thought out, very rarely deviated from it. This made him a lot harder to defeat.

Scratch was very much like Rumina. If you played his games the way he wanted, if you won you were able to go freely. Scratch, though a devil he may be was actually honorable by his words.

Sinbad didn't want to think about what would happen if he ever lost.

He felt his breath hitch in his throat as Maeve once again came to mind. DimDim had brought her to him for protection against Rumina and Scratch. Would she even be **allowed** to come back once they freed her?

Maeve had barely been powerful enough to just barely defeat the majority of Rumina's conjuring; not to mention that Rumina still had enough power to mist herself away from the battle thereby alluding to the fact that she had a lot of magical strength left in her body.

Which, now that he was really thinking about it, begged the question: _**why did she leave?**_

With only a year's worth of training, would Maeve even stand a chance against the wills of those three?!?!

_Freed her! _

_By Allah, she was trapped and he hadn't known! _

_What kind of man or friend was he?! _

_She was one of his best friends! _

_How is it that he hadn't felt her return to this realm? _

_She was in this realm, right?! _

_Right?! _

Panic was once again settling in. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

First things first, talk to Caipra.

Secondly, develop a plan.

Third, go find Maeve and save her.

Anything else could wait. The whole world could go to hell for all he cared at the moment. The only thing that was important to him was finding and saving Maeve.

As he met Caipra's gaze with his own, he demanded, "Where is she?"

Doubar jumped in with wide wild eyes, "No hold on there little brother! I was under the impression that, that little witch was dead! How is it, that she is still alive?!"

Firouz nodded his curly head and pointed out as he waved his hand towards the outside in a general movement of 'her', "Point of fact, how did she survive the Griffin's blast?"

Sinbad sighed.

He didn't want to answer that.

For the simple reason, that neither he nor Maeve had mentioned it when she told him about Rumina's survival.

They didn't need to know then and he still wasn't sure they needed to know now.

Caipra raised her hand, halted Sinbad's opening mouth, and said, "I'll explain…"

Sinbad nodded, rested his body against her hearth, and tried not to think about how sadly beautiful Maeve looked that victoriously lost day. He, himself, had some theories as to why Maeve had been lost in the storm. He knew that the storm hadn't been natural. How, he knew that, he wasn't sure, but he had, and he had wanted Maeve to go down below.

Unfortunately, his stubborn Celtic sorceress hadn't been about to leave him by himself on the deck and had plainly said so.

His theory was that Rumina and Scratch feared Maeve's strength, and in an effort to kill that strength, they conjured up the storm.

Caipra's voice brought him back to the present, "Turok lives…and he lives thanks to the Gryffin's Egg."

Doubar shouted, "What?! How was that possible!"

Rongar quickly signed a few signs and then signed a sign for Maeve and one for Rumina.

Firouz equated that to mean, _'How is that possible? The Egg was good; Turok evil. I thought the egg was supposed to destroy all evil in its path.'_

Caipra took a deep breath and said, "Peace…I shall explain…"

She met all their eyes and continued, "Before that battle against good and evil, Rumina had been approached by Scratch in order to make a deal. He'd help Rumina kill Sinbad if he could get Sinbad's soul. Rumina would have turned him down, except that Scratch offered her a tiny piece of his Hell Fire to nearly double her magical strength and to sweeten the deal, he reanimated Turok's head…"

She took another slow and controlled breath and said, "When Dermott delivered the Egg to Skull Mountain, it did destroy the darkness there. It rid the island of the evil influences of Rumina and Scratch. It made that devil vanish back into his underground cave, weakened Rumina to the point of death, and it took Scratch's reanimation spell, a neutral spell cast-able by both practitioners of black and white magic, and reanimated Turok's whole body by infusing it with magical energy."

She shook her head and pointed out, "It wasn't Rumina who cast the spell to make that storm that sent Maeve away, Sinbad. She was too weak thanks to the Egg; it was Turok. That is why DimDim was able to buffer Turok's spell's effects. The storm was supposed to kill her. Instead, DimDim brought her to him."

She sighed and answered their unsaid questions, "DimDim told me through images during one of our brief meetings through the realms."

Sinbad felt a jolt of guilt at that, but pushed it aside. He wasn't to blame for that, and he wasn't about to start blaming himself again for something Caipra had dissolved him from.

She nodded at him with an approving smile and ended sadly, "Unfortunately, Rumina, Scratch, and Turok are all back to full strength. About a month ago, those three cast a spell in an attempt to kill both Maeve and DimDim in their hiding place. Luckily, Maeve and DimDim were able to block their attempts by joining their magics together with their love for one another. Unfortunately, with the Hell Fire pendant Scratch gifted to Rumina, it gave her that extra bit of power needed to overcome both DimDim and Maeve's spell of protection."

Bryn spoke up for the first time and asked firmly because she knew her male friends dearly wanted to know so they could go and find her, "Where is she?"

Caipra sighed and replied, "She is in a chamber that is blocked from all physical means of getting there deep underground. I'll have to send you there magically, but you all must be forewarned: all six of you, yes six of you, Dermott is included in this, will have to undergo a test of sorts to find Maeve. Only when all six of you have passed, will you be able to move on and find the chamber."

She eyed them with a serious gleam in her eyes and finished, "If even one of you fails, Maeve dies."


	6. Chapter 6

The Return of Maeve 6

**There is a scene in this chapter that might be confusing. The names in (******) are the **REAL** people; the names **before** the (******) are the magical double overlapping the REAL person. 

***Example: When Sinbad first woke up on the island in season 2, he thought he saw Maeve, but it was really Bryn.

****This is similar except it is magic and more permanent than a simple hallucination.

****((*******))** means Rongar's **real memory** of this taking place.

*****Bold mean either the magic is doing something or it is Rongar's thoughts.**

The crew fell silent.

Not a sound, even breathing, was heard from their persons.

What evil had befallen their friend, that even one stumble would end up with them killing her?!

Sinbad felt his heart constrict once more. How much more of this could he stand? First, he had thought he had **finally** found Maeve. Next, it had been a false lead for Scratch to try and get his soul. Then, just a minute ago, Caipra had given him the hope of finding her once more; now she was likely to be killed because of him.

For if anyone was to fail in their tests, it would be him because he has lost his sense of self and even now was struggling to find it. To go through this test, would surely cause her death.

Scratch would only be too thrilled by the fact that his greatest enemy, and greatest source of power, would end up in his grasp because of his own failure as a man.

Caipra shot his a sharp and slightly disapproving glance, and again Sinbad felt guilty for his loss of self-worth. He had a marvelous ability to place the blame of every wrong in the world on his shoulders, even if it had nothing to do with him.

Where this talent for such blame came from, he wasn't sure; but he was sure it entered his life after Maeve fell over board.

Could he possibly ask the others to do this even though he himself wasn't sure he could? He wanted to help her, make no mistake, but he wasn't so sure he'd pass the test.

Before he could make his concerns known, Rongar, who was sitting there pensively staring at nothing, nodded and stood up.

Sinbad turned his attention to his old friend, and asked hesitantly, "Rongar?"

Rongar turned towards the others; he nodded resolutely; patted his hand firmly over his heart and made a symbol all there recognized as meaning Maeve and raised an eyebrow at both Sinbad and Caipra.

Sinbad allowed, "If you are sure…?"

Rongar nodded once again in firm assurance.

Caipra smiled and ordered gently as she pointed to the hand woven rug in the main room, "Very well, Rongar you'll need to lay down on the floor just there as I gather the ingredients and make ready to cast the spell."

Rongar followed Caipra's finger and saw the rug float up and away with Caipra's simple motion. There underneath the rug was a white pentacle with five white candles sitting on the five points of the star.

Each of the men noticed the candles and wondered what they were for. Maeve had never really worked with candles before and Bryn's powers were so out of control that there was no need for her to train with candles.

Caipra waved her hand and all five candles burst into flames.

She turned towards Rongar and said, "Lay down Rongar."

When he was in the center of the star, Caipra raised her hands and intoned,

"_**From this hour until your return,  
these candles of hope I will let burn.  
My lord and lady, watch over you.  
Keep you safe, from harms view.  
From now until you return to me.  
This is my will, so mote it be."**_

The men watched as Rongar was enveloped in a white light. When it vanished, Rongar was as still as stone and if not for the minute rise and fall of his chest they would have though he was dead.

Doubar asked, "Why did you summon upon the Lord and Lady?"

Caipra smiled and said, "Maeve's childhood gave devotion to…"

Bryn blinked for the spell and pentacle was very familiar to her somehow and ended, "The Green Man and the Lady of the Moon."

Firouz asked with wonder in his voice, "How'd you know that?"

Bryn blinked and replied in an oddly distant and detacted voice, "I don't know."

_Rongar blinked as his vision blurred and then sharpened. He was surrounded by darkness and in the distance he heard water dripping down from the top of wherever he was. _

_The smell was overwhelmingly awful. His nose was assaulted with scents he hadn't experienced since his incarceration years ago when __Ali Raschid, the thieving merchant, cut out his tongue. _

_He spun around and threw out his hands in front of him in hopes of finding his path. With only three steps to his right, he came up on a solid wall. _

_With practiced ease, he ran his hands over the stone wall. _

_He frowned; the wall's surface was smooth and blocked off like stones had been stacked to make the chamber he was in. He ran his fingers in the grooves and his frown deepened. It felt like dried mortar. He coppery scent assailed his nostrils with a sudden burst of unfelt but easily heard wind. _

_He knew this scent;_

_Blood._

_With his hands still grazing the wall in an effort to find his way, Rongar picked a direction and slowly began to walk. _

_He didn't understand; He was supposed to be tested by something or someone to help Maeve. _

**Was this a part of it?**

**Had he failed already?! **

**If not, would Maeve die because he can't figure out what he is supposed to do?!**

_As he felt his way around a sharp corner, furthering his belief that this was a man made chamber (dungeon), a sparkle of sharp light hit his conditioned eyes._

_He moaned and threw up his hands to block the light._

_As he did that, he threw himself behind the wall in case of an unexpected attack. The wall would provide him with some protect till his eyesight returned to him._

_His heart was pounding. _

**If I'm where I think I am…**

**But that is impossible! **

**I personally sent Ali Raschid to his death by tossing him over the palace's walls! **

**How can I be here, now?!**

_Once his eyesight grew comfortable to the darkness, he slowly edged around the wall, his heart still pounding in disbelief, and chocked a yell of victory._

_There he was; Ali Raschid in chains like he had been so very long ago._

_Rongar smiled to himself as he gazed at the man who had caused him and his sister, Zora, so much pain. _

_His immaculate clothes were in bloody tatters. _

_His proud facial lines were weary and his skin an ash gray of the dead yet not dead._

_His eyes had been blackened so much that he could not see out of one and very little through the other. _

_His lips were bruised a bloody red and even now blood pooled up on his swollen flesh and dribbled out and down his chin and neck._

_Three of his fingers were pulled out of their sockets and his entire back was a meaty mess of torn flesh and razor sharp edges of skin where the leather had torn it in punishment._

_He was not standing so much as hanging there and Rongar felt a jolt of satisfaction and pleasure course through his veins at the sight._

_Rongar, now calm and feeling victorious, (though he had done nothing yet to deserve it) after making sure that they were alone, walked out of the shadows proudly like the Prince he was._

_**Unnoticed by him, a second wind unseen, unfelt, and unheard pushed by him and made the scene before him tremble under its magic spell.**_

_Rongar (Ali) moaned and pulled himself into a fetal position to protect himself from whomever it was who had come to harm him._

_Ali (Rongar) grinned and said, "My, my, my, look how the mighty have fallen."_

**Though he felt victory in his blood, he also felt a hint of sympathy or was it even empathy for his hated enemy tied up their like he had once been?**

_Ali (Rongar) blinked and his hand slammed to his mouth in shock. _

_He could speak! _

_Elation spread through his soul as he spoke again ignoring his inner goodness, which yelled at him that this was wrong, "How does it feel Ali Raschid too be on the other end of the tails? How does it feel to feel your very flesh ripping and tearing under another power?"_

_As he said this, he moved to the chamber walls and grabbed the very weapon he spoke of._

**In spite of himself, he felt a shiver of revulsion sweep across him at the sight of the leathers and the thoughts that flew through his mind as to how to use it in the most effective and most painful way possible. **

_The tails were coated in red blood and chunks of flesh were still sticking to the drying blood and leather._

_Rongar (Ali) moaned; it sounded like a wounded animal and not human._

_Ali (Rongar) gasped. _

_Ali (Rongar) could easily see that Rongar (Ali's) tongue was no more. It had been cut from his mouth like his had been so very long ago._

**Yet again, a jolt of sympathy hit him. He even had the urge to let the man go even with all he had done to him, his sister, and his country. **

**No one deserved to go through this like he had. **

**No one.**

_Still Rongar (Ali) moaned and tried to cover himself as best as he could while shaking and silent pleas went unheard though they were said even without the skill of speech from the wounded man chained to the wooden poles._

_As Ali (Rongar) made his way to Rongar (Ali) to let him go, a creaking sound reverberated throughout the dungeons. _

_Both men froze and turned towards the door._

_There in the doorway, was a younger and unscarred Zora. She gasped and flew down the stairs._

_Ali (Rongar) grinned and exclaimed, "Zora! I can speak again!"_

_Ali (Rongar) nearly stumbled over nothing at the evil glare Zora met him with. Her eyes were glazing over like Bryn's and Maeve's did when they used their magic. _

**Why was she upset with him? He was back and could speak once more! Why wasn't she happy to see him?!**

_Zora snarled as she tended to the wounded Rongar (Ali), "Why shouldn't you be able to speak Ali? You aren't the one whose tongue has been cut out!"_

_Rongar (Ali) within Zora's arms moaned in despair and pain as she whispered and shushed and lovingly tended to him._

_Ali (Rongar) felt his frozen fingers drop the leather tails at his sister's words. _

**Ali? She had called him Ali? Why? Why was she helping their tormentor?!**

_Suddenly very angry at the situation, (what kind of test was this?) he roared, "Why do you help him! He is nothing! You should be helping and loving me! I am your brother not him!"_

_Zora eyed him like he had lost his mind mixed with extreme hatred that sent a stabbing pain to his chest, and answered in a snarl, "I help him because __**he**__, unlike __**you**__, __**is**__ my brother! You are a tyrant who needs to be killed!"_

_As Ali (Rongar) yelled and made to rip Rongar (Ali) to pieces with his bare hands; Zora through herself before Rongar (Ali), yelling at him to spare her brother's life, he froze wide eyed in horror._

_Before him was a mirror._

_He wasn't in the mirror._

_Ali was._

_His lungs burned with their need for air, yet he could not make his body do the simplest and most instinctual jobs that it had always done from the moment he entered this world._

_Ali was in the mirror, yet he __**((Rongar))**__ could see, feel, speak, touch, hear, and taste as if it was his own body!_

_He blinked and suddenly he could move. He felt the air whoosh out of him and looked up to see Zora, a very young Zora, above him holding a long bo staff. _

_He pulsating side flaring with pain made it extremely obvious as to how and why he moved._

_He remembered this part of his history too. He distinctly remembered Zora trying to come to his rescue, but she had been knocked unconscious by her would be love and he had paid with more blood for __**((Ali's))**__ rage at Zora's attempt at ending his life._

_Despite his near death, for Zora looked murderous, **((Rongar))** glanced at the mirror one more time and gasped. _

_The dungeons were awash in an eldritch green glow._

_**Magic**_

_Then he remembered exactly why he was here. _

_**Maeve needed him!**_

_This hadn't happened! _

_In fact, like Zora had told him when they were last in Bollnah, had been unconscious for many days after he had escaped from Ali and made his way to Basra. _

_She hadn't had the chance to be a murderer; __**to even think it! **_

_He rose to his feet, ripped the bo staff from Zora's hands, took a step back, bowed at the waist to show his appreciation and respect and said, "You are both free to go."_

_Zora and the moaning Rongar (Ali) froze and silenced themselves as if they had been placed under and freezing spell._

_**The green eldritch magic, which rolled about his leather sandaled feet and an unseen but slightly familiar soothing, seductive voice, neither male nor female for all its familiarity, was heard, "You are an honorable man Rongar, you have passed your test."**_

There was another brilliant flash of light.

When he could see once more, he was no longer in the dungeons below the palace of Bollnah, but inside the pentacle in Caipra's house in Basra.

"Rongar! Are you alright!" asked a concerned and fretting Firouz.

Sinbad was concerned as well.

Rongar's pallor wasn't healthy at all.

His normally dark hued skin that gleamed with life was ashy gray and his breath came to him in uneven bursts of life giving air.

Caipra said, "He will be well in a few minutes, he has met and won against that which still haunted him. He has passed."

Rongar looked up from his place on the floor with his knees bunched up under him and his elbows and arms resting on his knees and nodded tiredly.

He made a few signs as he nodded once more: _"Yes, I'll be fine, it was just…it was not exactly what I had been expecting…."_

Doubar asked, "What do you mean?"

Caipra interrupted, "We must not speak of the trials until they are done. To speak of them as such would tempt Turok's wrath upon Maeve."

That caused the group to stop speaking at once.

But Firouz had to ask, "How could he possibly know what we speak of here Caipra?"

Caipra sat down tiredly on her favorite chair and said, "The same way Rumina spied on you, a seeing pool."

The Nomad crew grew silent once more. What could they say against that? It **could** quite possibly be true, after all.

Doubar sighed and asked wearily as he wasn't quite sure he wanted to ask this but he wanted Maeve back even more, "Who's next?"

Firouz, though anxious about his own test, was also very curious and replied, "I am."

Caipra nodded and said as she laid her head against the padded back support of her chair, "In an hour, I need to regain my strength."


	7. Chapter 7

The Return of Maeve 7

Firouz's Belief

In just a few short minutes, he was going to be put under a magical spell by a powerful sorceress.

In just a few short minutes, he was going to allow himself to be taken from his body to another place to be tested on something to save a friend's life.

He, a man of science, of proof, and logic, was going to place himself into the mercies of a force hitherto unknown to him except for what Maeve and his own observations of her practicing said magic had seen.

He was going to let himself be tested with this magic even though he had no real training in it.

_How would this affect him once it was over with?_

_Would it even affect him badly?_

_Will he come back with some sort of understanding of this metaphysical world his female friends were apart of that he in the past had yet to comprehend?_

He was nervous, scared, anxious, and excited all at once; he wanted this done; now.

He wanted this test over; not only because he wasn't comfortable with all the magical aspects of this test, but he wanted Maeve safe and with them once more.

And so…

Firouz paced back and forth.

This was a habit he had barrowed and then absorbed into his behavior as a close friend of Sinbad and Doubar's.

At first he hadn't paid it any attention as it was only pacing, but as the year crawled by on the Nomad and their adventures grew darker and more dangerous, he had finally caught on when he and Sinbad both paced across a small room and managed to cut each other off many times.

The captain, not his friend, hadn't been very amused.

He found it fascinating though, as it proved a theory of his that he had thought up years ago: that friends and family and environment ultimately influenced how a person acts.

It was a mixture of the two as opposed to the singular oppositions that other colleagues of his supported as the singular influence on a person's life.

Doubar sighed and said as he pulled off his turban, "Firouz you're making me dizzy, stop!"

The young curly haired scientist paused, looked up to meet his bigger friend's pale blue eyes and said with an apologetic shake of his head, "I'm sorry Doubar, but I've apparently inherited yours and Sinbad's habit of pacing while thinking things through."

Doubar blinked and groaned at that. While not as observant in the sciences as his friend (and all the prouder for it), he too had seen Firouz slowly but surely acquire his and his brother's habit of pacing when they were impatient or thinking furiously about something.

It made him both proud and annoyed at the same time.

Firouz sighed but paused and sat down on the floor beside Caipra's relaxed body.

The old woman smiled at him and said, "Only a few more minutes Firouz and then I'll be ready."

Firouz nodded but said, "I still find it fascinating though…"

Bryn gave him a puzzled look and asked, "What is fascinating Firouz?"

Firouz blinked but answered with awe and curiosity, "How magic, that is not in anyway shape or form physically real, can form from its metaphysical realm into our own through conduits such as yourself and Lady Caipra, my dear, and become a physical force of energy."

Bryn blinked at that; she thought magic was physical.

It felt very physical to her at least. She felt the drain of using her magic nearly every single time she used it. So how couldn't it not be a physical force of the world?

Firouz blinked and continued, "Point of fact, like with Maeve's control over fire. She has an almost instinctive control of it, but she had to work to control it at the beginning. Fire, as we all know, is a very violent and dangerous element to work with, yet Maeve can mold it to do her bidding without it harming her with burns and such. She can take those metaphysical attributes of fire and through her body, or the conduit, bring it out into this world as physically hot and dangerous fire to those who are our enemies. I have observed her and watched as the fire literally grew from her fingers to form her famous fireballs, and watched as with each and every one made she grew physically weaker and weaker….

And you, Bryn, you can make things like tornadoes and shoot bolts of light from your eyes. While your control isn't Maeve's because of your missing memory, you can control (for the most part) what you magically create in our physical world through the conduit of your body, and get weaker with each consecutive thing you make and the longer they are in the physical plain…"

He shook his head and repeated, "Fascinating…"

The others eyed him with glazed non-comprehending stares.

He sighed and said with a wave of his hand, "Nevermind…….."

Caipra smiled at him with glittering and understanding eyes. Firouz had a funny feeling she knew exactly what he was talking about and understood it all too.

He watched her as she stood up and said, "I'm ready."

He quickly scrambled to his feet and said, "Very well."

He marched over to the circle of white candles and laid down.

He fidgeted as Caipra intoned,

"_**From this hour until your return,  
this candle of hope I will let burn.  
My lord and lady, watch over you.  
Keep you safe, from harms view.  
From now until you return to me.  
This is my will, so mote it be."**_

They watched as their scientist friend was enveloped in a white light. When it vanished, Firouz was as still as stone and if not for the minute rise and fall of his chest they would have though he was dead.

Caipra sat back down on her chair with a sigh and Sinbad snorted and said as a joke to break down the tension that was steadily growing in the room, "I'd give almost anything to see Firouz' face when he arrives wherever he's going."

The others snorted in agreement.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring up into a pair of pure golden orbs.

He shouted an exclamation and jumped to his feet. Automatically, his hand went to his side and grabbed the hilt his hand found there.

When he felt the familiar piece of steal and leather, his mind caught up to what his eyes had been seeing: a young woman with long reddish gold hair, pale skin, and pure golden orbs for eyes. There wasn't any other color there.

Simply pure gold that burned with power.

He shook as tremors of _**'something' **_rolled over his body and seemed to claim all his attention.

This woman, creature, thing simply stared at him and despite his courage it had deserted him and he found himself fidgeting even worse now than he did whilst in the circle of candles in Caipra's home.

The woman was surrounded by a horribly bright and warm golden light that seemed to emanate from all around her, but most predominately from her eyes and her hair.

Her eyes were wise and innocent,

They were soft and hard,

They were angry, they were sweet,

They were malevolent, they were benevolent.

Firouz couldn't stand to see those eyes staring straight through him. The very fact that they were watching him sent shivers of fear and horror through him.

The woman opened her mouth and asked in a strong, terrible, and marvelously uplifting, loving voice, **"Who are you?"**

Firouz felt a jolt of _**'something'**_ again roll through him as he stumbled backwards due to the strength of this _**'something'**_, and stuttered out in a cracking voice full of nervousness and fear, "I…I…am…m…m…Fir…Firo…Firouz."

She was silent.

She simply watched him as he fiddled with his shirt.

He knew she was waiting for something, but for the life of him he didn't know what!

He raised his head and asked slowly, "Wh…where are…are we?"

She blinked slowly and answered in that terribly awesome voice, **"We are in the essence of your fiery friend."**

Firouz blinked and tilted his head.

_They were where?!_

He blinked and asked again as confusion blocked all other avenues for his fear to consume him, "We're where?"

She blinked again and answered slowly, **"We are in the essence of your fiery friend."**

She added once more, **"Who are you?"**

He stood straight and answered once more with confidence growing, "I am Firouz."

She tilted her head and asked, **"Why are you here Firouz?"**

He blinked and replied in an obvious tone, "I'm here to help rescue Maeve by taking some sort of test."

He continued more eagerly as he took a step forward, "Do you know where she is?"

The woman shook her head. Her hair, as golden as the sun in the high noon, glittered with inner light as she continued to stare at him with unblinking eyes.

Firouz's eagerness waned as he took a step back and gulped as she asked once more, **"Why are you here Firouz?"**

He huffed loudly as he sighed and repeated, for he was getting impatient with all these inane questions that had nothing to do with rescuing Maeve, "I'm here to save my friend!"

She gave him a hard look and asked pointedly, **"Why, you do not believe in her essence, so why are you here?"**

The young man's mouth dropped open as he asked in disbelief, "Do not believe in her essence?! What are you talking about?!"

The woman rolled her golden eyes, how he knew he wasn't sure as there was no color to show a difference, and said in a telling sort of way as if she was talking down to him rather than at him which caused him to bristle in annoyance and anger, **"You Firouz, claim to be a friend of Maeve, yet you do not believe in her essence, you do not believe in the magic that lives inside her heart, mind, blood, and soul. You constantly try to explain away all that you see, and you dismiss all that you do not, so why are you here when you do not believe in the core that which is your friend, Maeve?"**

Firouz felt anger bubbling up inside him.

How **DARE** this…**THING**…tell him what he should and shouldn't believe!

He was a man of science!

He wasn't one of magic!

He knew the existence of magic was real, Maeve, Bryn, Caipra, and even Rumina were proof enough that it is.

He might not understand the laws that govern magic, as he did the laws of the physical world that they lived in, but he never dismissed the magic in their world.

He had to see it, to physically touch it and study it, to know that it was real.

Those things he could understand.

Magic was of the metaphysical.

He couldn't feel it so much as he could see it.

He wasn't one to simply trust his feelings as they had proven false many times in the past.

His eyes, he could trust to tell him the truth; whereas his heart and soul could easily fool him with longing and wondrous things.

Magic was only physical because a few people had the ability to manipulate those metaphysical lines that were all around them (as Maeve had once said). They, sorcerers and sorceresses, were simple conduits that let the magic course through their veins into the real world.

To believe was to have faith in it yourself.

To have faith in it you had to believe it to be really there.

To Maeve, Bryn and Caipra, who had those skills to draw out the metaphysical powers, those were real.

They could see it,

They could hear it pounding in their hearts,

They could smell it with their noses,

And they could touch it with their very beings deep within their hearts and souls.

To touch it was to feel it; they could feel it.

He could not.

Therefore, if he could not feel it; could not touch it, he could not believe it was there.

Without the belief there was no faith for him to use (not that he could) or feel it.

It was a vicious circle, and he was, unfortunately, one of the many hundreds who had not the skill to feel, to touch, to believe, or to have faith in it (magic).

But, he had seen magic with his own eyes.

He had seen the drain on his friends as they used those magics he couldn't believe in.

He had seen the power behind them all, and knew it was a truly powerful thing indeed.

He might not have belief and faith in this metaphysical thing called magic, but…

But…

They were what he believed in.

They were what he had eternal faith in.

They he could see.

They he could touch.

They he could smell.

They he could hear.

And if he ever had the desire too, he could taste them too (which he wouldn't as Sinbad would maim him for even thinking it about one, and murder him for thinking it about the other-friends or not).

Firouz felt his heart freeze as an epiphany shot down his spine.

Then his heart jolted back into life and pumped ten times faster to make up for its missed beat.

He could feel his limbs bursting with new life as his epiphany continued to scorch a path straight down into his heart and soul…

…he **DID** have faith and belief in Bryn.

…he **DID** have belief and faith in Maeve.

He raised his eyes back to the woman, who still stood there with apathetic eyes, and said with a straight back full of belief and faith in his own words as he answered her question, "I **DO** believe and have faith in Maeve because I know she is of the metaphysical. I have seen and felt her power. It is a frighteningly beautiful element, and I'm constantly in awe and fear of her because of it."

He hurried to explain himself for those words hadn't come out of his mouth right, "I'm not scared of _**'her'**_ per se, no not at all; Maeve is a wonderful, kind, generous, marvelous, skillful, stubborn, beautiful woman full of fiery grace and allure which no doubt you gave her. But, as I do not understand the metaphysical world she lives in, that **you** live in My Lady, I fear that which I do not know."

An inkling of the answer she wanted whispered itself in the back of him mind; he shivered with eagerness because he wanted to say this answer that he newly found within himself.

He licked his lips and ended, "I am here, to find and protect Maeve from the curse that holds her captive. I have a firm belief that she is hale and whole and simply waiting on us to come and get her. I have faith in her to hold on until we reach her since she is as powerful and stubborn as…as…as a phoenix that brings light, hope, and love to those you believe in their powers."

He sighed and ended, "I might not understand it, but I believe in her inherent goodness. I believe in her fire, I believe in her feelings, and I…"

He paused there, looked this woman straight in the eyes, and said sincerely as a finger came to rest on her forearm, "…I might not be able to see you out there, but I see you now…I feel you now…I can touch you now…I believe in you…you, who are Maeve's core essence…that which makes Maeve the person we all know and love."

There he ended his monologue.

He was done; epiphany over.

It was all up to her now.

She sat there in silence simply staring at him.

He felt like she was weighing his words against him, and hoped that she knew or felt the sincerity in them.

He truly meant it.

He might not be able to call upon those of the elements like Bryn, Caipra, or Maeve could, but he knew now and understood.

_**That seeing isn't believing, and that believing is seeing.**_

She blinked and her whole visage changed.

The golden light of her hair and eyes grew warmer and lovelier.

It filled him with a warmth that he had never known before.

Firouz felt like the sun had come out for the first time.

He reveled in it.

She smiled lovingly at him and said in her terrible, loving voice, **"You have passed."**

Firouz smiled as the white light enveloped him once more.

*******************

Caipra opened her eyes and said, "He's done."

The crew watched with wide eyes as the white light dwindled into nothing and then vanished.

When the light was gone, Firouz's eyes opened and he sat up.

Sinbad saw the reverence in his eyes and wondered just what it was that Firouz had been tested on.

Whatever it was had caused his logical friend to seem more…**more**; like Bryn and Maeve and Caipra were more than normal people.

He snorted quietly to himself.

Firouz was not a man of magic, but all the same…

His thoughts were interrupted by Caipra as she said, "He finally understands."

Firouz met each and every person's eyes in the room; Dermott's included, and simply said in a very serious yet wondrous tone, "Yes, I do."

The silence after his profound words that caused them all to pause at the significant meaning or emotion in those words was thick.

Caipra sat back down and said, "Again, I'll need an hour to rest."

She looked back up at them and asked, "Who is next?"

The crew of the Nomad looked at one another.

Rongar and Firouz seemed more at peace than they had ever been before, but who would be next?

Doubar bit his lip and decided then and there to just do it, "I will."

* * *

Deep within a mountain, hidden by layers and layers of rock and surrounded and pushed down by hundreds of thousands of kilos of water, a young woman smiled; she knew they were close all she had to do was wait and pray.

* * *

Elsewhere, a man with dark black hair, pale skin, and even darker more potent eyes furiously paced back and forth.

His plans to kill of the peasant witch weren't going as he had planned!

It had seemed so easy too.

All he had to do was cast the spell and offer up a sacrifice to the god of the sea, Poseidon.

The spell was ease enough to cast, and the sacrifice of a small virgin girl from a nearby island made a wonderful gift the Patron God of the Sea.

So, what had gone wrong?

He frowned; DimDim, that's what went wrong.

His old enemy, even castaway from this realm by magic, still managed to interfere at just the right time.

DimDim had saved the girl, and protected and nurtured her.

So much so, he now feared the power he sensed shining brightly for all to see.

Unfortunately, he couldn't undo this spell to fix the problem he was now facing.

Unlike other spells, once this one was cast, it can't be undone till the spell ran its course.

The spell would end once the tests were fulfilled.

Two were successes; four more were left; five if you counted the peasants test too.

He sighed in defeat.

He had gamboled on DimDim not interfering and lost.

He'd just have to wait for her to awaken before killing her off.

It's a good thing he was a patient man…


	8. Chapter 8

The Return of Maeve 8

Doubar's Loyalty

Doubar wasn't sure he was ready for this, but he knew he had to do it. Not only was it expected of him, like it had been for Rongar and Firouz and will be for the others, but Maeve's very life (and therefore Sinbad's) depended on it.

He would do anything to see his little brother happy, and saving Maeve from Turok's evil spell would ensure his brother's happiness for a life time.

He glanced about the room and frowned at the star pentacle. Magic simply made him nervous. It was unpredictable; and it left him and others vulnerable to those who used their powers for evil deeds.

Such as right now; and his frown grew.

Turok was back; and according to Sinbad, Rumina, who he had thought was dead, was alive and in the thick of things again as well.

He knew Rumina wouldn't be pulling any hits this time around. She had been hurt one too many times by Sinbad to let things go, but she did have her own ways of going about things.

It was this 'honor' that he saw inside her that allowed them to both win against her and loose to her too. For there had been a time or two when it was easy to see that she easily had the upper hand and could have killed them all.

It was with this 'honor', that the crew had been able to escape her clutches and not face her wrath when her strength returned later.

Turok on the other hand was pure cold-hearted, single-mindedness. He made a plan and stuck to it. No matter what he felt for the opposition, Turok never deviated from the established plan.

That made him dangerous.

It made him nervous.

Caipra had said that this was Turok's plan, but what was it that the older black sorcerer wanted? What did he hope to gain with Maeve's release?

It didn't make sense to him at all. If it was a sense of 'repayment' from Sinbad, Turok would have simply **given** Maeve to him to earn Sinbad's debt. This roundabout way of doing things didn't seem to add up to him.

Did Turok hope to gain Maeve's allegiance for carving the path for them to save her? If so, he had to have known that Maeve would never think to do such a thing. She was too pure and righteous to even think of using darker magics. While Maeve was easy to anger, she never used that anger for darker deeds.

Did Turok hope to gain a path through the dimensions in order to get to DimDim when they completed the tasks? It was a well known fact (even to him) that such magics release large amounts of ambient magic that is usable to any who had the skill to draw upon it.

With that thought, his face paled and he twisted to look at Caipra urgently, frantically.

The older woman's dark eyes found his, and the darkly warm depths were marred by worry and fear.

Fear of what Turok was after;

Fear for DimDim's well being;

Fear for the crew who tested themselves in Turok's evil plans, and…

Fear for Maeve's very life.

Doubar swallowed harshly and stood up from his reclining position against the wall as Caipra stood up and said, "I am ready."

As he lay down in the white star, he closed his eyes and tried to get comfortable as she conjured,

"_**From this hour until your return,  
this candle of hope I will let burn.  
My lord and lady, watch over you.  
Keep you safe, from harms view.  
From now until you return to me.  
This is my will, so mote it be."**_

With a flash of white light, Doubar's normally animated face and body was still and silent. If the crew hadn't already experienced this aspect of the spell, they would have panicked when they couldn't see Doubar's rather large chest move up and down with life drawing breaths.

Sinbad released his own breath; two down, four more to go.

Doubar wasn't sure where he was.

He wasn't even sure if he was still alive.

His body felt like it weighed both everything and nothing.

His face was hot and cold and his eyes felt like they had the weight of the world on them forcing them and keeping them closed.

With a Herculean effort, he forced his eyes open expecting to see something from his darkest fears….

….all he saw….

Foggy whiteness floating around in eerie swirls and twirls.

Nothingness all around him.

Disoriented Doubar tried to stand up.

To his horror, he realized he couldn't move his muscles and up was down and down was up.

As he tried to move his hands to his sword at his side, he could feel a nervous tic appear over his left eye.

This nothingness both muted his emotions and set them a flame with urgent signals to his brain.

_(Distantly he was sure Firouz would be proud of his last thought.)_

With all his reserved strength, he pushed himself to a standing (he thinks) position through the murky weight crushing him on all sides, and then felt the panic he had held off being to set in.

This nothingness had muted everything!

There was nothing to hear to give him clues about this place like the ports they arrived in told him about the people that lived around them.

There was nothing to feel to give him hints about the land here like other geographic lands had.

There was nothing to taste in the air to keep him upbeat and cheery like on the seas.

There was nothing to see in this vacant place that told him what to expect like the open skies told him the weather.

And lastly, there was nothing to smell in this place to show him the way to life sustaining foods like so many places before had done.

With the weight still pushing him down, Doubar felt a shiver crawl down his back. He **knew** someone was watching him.

Like Rongar, Doubar had always been able to know when another person was around him; this presence was wrong. It was dark, it was evil, it was malevolent in it's persistence to see him on his knees bowing in subservience to it.

Doubar wasn't going to let that happen!

If this was, indeed, Turok like he thought; he wasn't going to give the dark sorcerer the pleasure of seeing him running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

Again, with a mighty heave, Doubar all but threw himself into a standing position in this whiteness.

As he made to challenge the dark presence, he amazingly heard something so glorious and pure that he almost thought that he was going insane.

But at the same time, he shouldn't have heard it at all.

It was a little girl's cries of pain.

Worried instead of angry, Doubar trudged through the murky atmosphere trying to follow those amazingly yet terrified sounds to its source.

As he trudged through the blankness that surrounded him, he called out, "Where are you lass? Let me know where you are sweetie!"

Every few steps though, Doubar felt the sensation he had felt only twice in his life: being pulled under the waves.

The cries simply got worse and Doubar desperately tried to run to her aid.

His first impulse, as always, was to run.

He couldn't.

It felt like he had five hundred pounds chained to either leg.

Then he tried to jump through the ghostly swirls and twirls.

He didn't even clear the 'ground'. A curious sensation since there wasn't a so-called ground to neither jump nor run off of.

In a spark of ingenuity, he let himself fall forward and stop parallel to the ground. With a grin at his own cleverness he swung his arms over his head and kicked his legs.

To his amazement, he felt himself move forward!

After a few minutes of marveling at swimming through the air, he found the tiny lass curled up on the 'ground' crying into her arms wrapped around her knees.

Doubar arched his back and threw himself back onto his feet, knelt down beside her, place his large but friendly hand on her frail shoulder and asked softly, "What's wrong little one? Why are you here?"

The young girl's sniffles calmed down a bit at his touch and his voice, and with a small, final snuffle, she raised her head.

Doubar felt his world tip once more. This tiny lass was no more than four and wore a necklace that was familiar to him: a golden band with two gold orbs ending at the half circle on the collarbone.

A golden torc; like Maeve had worn once.

Doubar felt a lump in his throat.

Her fiery golden red hair fell in soft waves to her shoulders.

Her sea blue eyes were bloodshot with her tears.

She gave him a tiny smile, and he saw that she had a pair of adorable dimples on each of her golden cheeks.

Doubar blinked in shock.

If he didn't know better, he would have sworn that this was a daughter of Sinbad and Maeve!

He was broken out from his thoughts, when the girl latched on to his arm and said with tears beginning to fall once more from her red eyes, "A mean man called me an evil witch! But I'm not! My family trusted him! Not me! They tried to burn me!"

She pushed her face into his shoulder and wailed in helplessness.

Doubar felt the emotions as they rolled through her tiny body. Who could do such a thing to a tiny wee one?

Whoever it was, was a right bastard to be sure!

Doubar asked her gently as he placed a large hand over her fiery waves, "Why did he do that?"

He might be stuck here until he figured out what kind of test this was, but he'd make sure that she got out of this mess if nothing less.

He was sure Maeve would understand….

The girl raised her head, sniffled, rubbed her eyes with the back of a fisted hand, and replied, "I don't know why he did it; all I did was make a candle burn."

Doubar smiled and said as a fond memory of Maeve's first fireball on board ship came to mind, "That's not so bad."

He continued with a large comical grin and large eyes, "I have a friend who uses fire too. In fact, the first time I met her, she was practicing with her fireballs, and nearly burnt me, my brother, and another friend of ours."

The girl grinned at his face and words, and Doubar felt his heart twinge again at her cuteness: she was missing her two front baby teeth.

Doubar then asked because he wanted to knock some sense into this guy, "What does this man look like?"

She tilted her head onto his shoulder, placed her thumb in her mouth, and said honestly, "He has shoulder length golden brown hair, sea blue eyes, wears a tight white shirt with blue and black tight vest, black leather pants, and he has a big bracelet on his left wrist!"

Doubar nearly dropped her as her description took hold of his thoughts.

Anger, shock, dismay, frustration, rolled through him at his brother's picture appeared in his mind.

He couldn't believe that his brother could do such a thing. It just didn't make sense! Why would Sinbad harm a child? Especially a magical child that uses fire…like Maeve did.

Doubar put her down, not a nicely as he could have, glared at her, and yelled, "That's a lie! My brother wouldn't do such a thing!"

She burst in tears and screamed with bunched fists rubbing the tears as they fell from her innocently wide eyes, "I'm not lying you big meanie!"

Doubar froze at her words and tears.

Guilt immediately sprung from him. How could he have made such a tiny lass cry in such a way? Perhaps it is simply another man, with similar characteristics as Sinbad's?

He did want to help her though.

Not only was it the right thing to do, but she looked so much like Maeve and Sinbad that he almost couldn't resist wanting to hear her call him 'uncle' Doubar.

He pulled her close again, but she shoved him away and said with a very familiar frown in place and fists placed on hips, "The man said that people would try to be my friend and lie about it…"

Doubar ignored her glares; after all he had, had plenty of practice, and picked her up to rest her on his hip that didn't have his sword strapped to it.

The girl gave up with an annoyed sigh, also very familiar, but snuggled up into him and asked with innocuous, helpless, hurting eyes that swam with unshed tears, "You'll help me, right Uncle Doubar?"

Doubar smiled and said even as a warning sounded in his head, something wasn't quite right here, but he wasn't sure what yet, "Of course I will little one, Uncle Doubar will protect you."

The warning only got louder as he walked through the swirls and eerie twirls.

The murky heaviness was gone now.

Doubar felt his unease return the farther in they went. This wasn't how the nothingness had acted before.

Whereas before he couldn't feel the ground, now he felt a good solid foundation under him and the air was easier to push through with his strong walking gait.

Since he didn't want her to know, he asked more questions about herself, "Where do you live? Who are you mommy and daddy? Do you have any pets? How old are you?"

She cheerfully babbled out her answers, and then Doubar asked his final question sure in his attempts to withhold his unease at their situation from her and his attempts to make her feel better, "How did you get here little one?"

She stopped talking and grew serious.

She met his gaze and answered, "I don't know. I was playing when this woman with black-brown hair and lots and lots of pretty jewelry sent me here."

She paused and added with a frown and a tilt of the head, "The mean man called her evil."

Doubar frowned at that. An evil, black-brown haired woman with lots of jewelry; it sounded like Rumina to him.

"Can you tell me more of this evil lady?"

She replied hotly, "The woman had pretty, blue, silky clothes: a half shirt and low pants with a blue jewel hanging in between her greenish-brown eyes, and she has a big bauble filled with fire around her neck."

Doubar mind told him from an earlier conversation with Caipra…_Rumina's gift from Scratch...._

Now he was sure of whom this evil lady was, but just to be sure, "Do you know her name little one?"

As he said this, he felt like hitting himself over the back of the head. This is supposed to be a test in order to save Maeve's life! He can't go off on crusades on a whim just because some little child caught him fancy with her looks!

Then, "Rumina."

Doubar fell silent as he thought about what he should do.

On the one hand, he had a duty to protect this innocent baby; but he had to save his friend, Maeve.

He had to find and pass his test; who is to say that **this** wasn't his test? Whose is it to say it **is**?

He was just so confused! This was normally Sinbad's job: analyzing all the information and then coming up with a battle plan.

His strength lied in supplementing an already existing strength, not creating it out of nothing.

Then something in the mists set him on edge.

Placing the child on the ground behind him, Doubar watched with eyes jumping to and fro in search of the enemy that knew he was close.

How he wished for Rongar or even Dermott's eagle eyes at the moment.

All he could see was those annoying swirls as they danced into all sorts of creepy things just inside a person's side views (peripheral vision).

There, in the dark, white, nothingness, a male figure appeared causing the girl to burst into more tears, grab Doubar's pants' leg, and beg, "I'm not evil! I'm not evil! Please don't kill me!"

Doubar felt his body tense in anxiousness and anticipation for a fight as the figure grew more and more distinct.

At the same time, he felt his heart pound under his breast and his palms grow sweaty.

Doubar's whole body was ready for this battle, his mind on the other hand, wasn't.

If it truly was Sinbad, he wasn't sure what he would do. He had always trusted and followed his younger brother through all their adventures with a loyalty to his blood that knew no limits. His faith in his brother had always been resolute and unshakable.

He just couldn't believe that his little brother, his brother who adored all children (even if he was uncomfortable with babies), could indifferently claim that a child was evil and watch her burn.

It just didn't sit well with him.

But, if what the lass said was true, his brother really was after her and wanted her dead for some evil misdeeds in her past.

A past that was only four years old.

As the man's form burst through the mists like the Nomad pushed through the churning waters of the seven seas, Doubar's heart froze within his breast.

Sinbad, his precious little brother, stood before him dressed exactly as the lass had described him.

His shoulder length golden brown hair hung in sweaty clumps and stuck to his bearded face at odd angles. His face was painted with droplets of red blood and stained his lips an ugly ruby red. His seas blue eyes were narrowed with anger and tinged with a shadow he had only ever seen in his worst nightmares. They showed the darkness of all those he had killed. His clothes, which gave him a closed off and darkly serious appearance, were splattered with the blood of the fallen. His sword, a gift from the crew on his twenty-fifth birthday, was dripping with thick, innocent blood, and his rainbow bracelet was darkened black; no color could be seen at all by the First Mate's frightened and anxious sky blue eyes as they searched for any hint of his brother's soul within the eyes he had grown to love so dearly.

The girl's cried grew even more panicked as Sinbad grinned, showing Doubar a pair of golden teeth, and raised his blood dripped sword so that the tip was pointed directly at her heart, and growled out, "Give her to me brother."

Doubar swallowed and felt his brow begin to glisten with sweat as it beaded up around his eyes, and said as he pushed the girl behind him, hiding her heart with his body, "No, little brother…"

Sinbad's narrow eyes constricted into slits as his grip tightened and he said, "This doesn't concern you Doubar, move out of my way."

Doubar gripped his sword in instinct to the present threat to him and his charge, and said again, "No, Sinbad, she's a child, what possible evil has she committed that begets her death?"

Sinbad lowered the sword, stared at him with disbelieving eyes and said slowly as if he was explaining something to a misbehaving child, "She's not innocent Doubar, she has killed plenty of people with her temper tantrums. She needs to be killed to save the rest of the villagers."

Doubar snorted and replied, "All children have tantrums Sinbad, you and I included. No child in innocent of that."

Sinbad's face contorted in fury as he swung his sword out at Doubar, making the large man raise his own to parry the swing, as the younger brother yelled, "But **WE** did not killed dozens of children like she did!"

Doubar winced at that.

This girl admitted to having magic; magic that dealt in the element of fire. It was extremely probable that in a fit of childish rage, that all children felt, that her magic overwhelmed her and killed those around her.

But Doubar held his ground against his brother and tried again, "She's just a child who has no control of her magic. Surely she can't be held accountable for a childish rage?"

Sinbad reared back, swung his sword around to an upwards arc towards his brother's neck and said as Doubar hastily threw himself and the girl away from his brother's deadly aim, and Doubar felt the first stirrings of true anger towards his brother for his actions.

From the beginning, Doubar had only defended himself, now he was going to go on the offensive!

With the girl safely away from the brothers, who were attacking each other, one to kill and the other to defend, Doubar picked up his pace and began to swing his large double edged cutlass against his brother's slimmer sword.

"Sinbad, she's just a child!" he cried out as he swung his cutlass in a downward diagonal cut.

Sinbad easily met each thrust and parry from his older brother and said, "She's not a child! She's a demon in disguise Doubar!"

"She's not a demon!"

"She is!"

As their swords crossed and their bodies clashed together in their battle of wills, the girl who had been forgotten about was grinning a frightening, smug smile.

For Sinbad was right, she was a demon.

A very familiar demon at that.

Sinbad pushed his brother away with a strength Doubar didn't know he had. As Doubar landed roughly on his backside and his cutlass tossed away from his grasp, Sinbad launched himself over his body in a forward flip, landed on his feet beside the horrified girl and raised his sword for the final swing.

Doubar, unable to let this happen, not only to his brother, whose soul would be forever damaged by this action, but to the girl who he still believed in, threw himself bodily at Sinbad.

Sinbad grunted in pain as he crashed face first into the nothingness with Doubar's heavy weight bashed into him from behind.

Doubar felt a flash of regret for harming his brother, but pushed it aside as they rolled to a stop with him on top of his brother. This regret grew into guilt for fighting with him, but he couldn't let Sinbad kill an innocent child. Sinbad, the Sinbad he knew and loved dearly as a brother, an uncle, and as a father, would never forgive himself when he came to his senses. He felt a strange power flow through him and it seemed to hover over the dark image of his brother.

His brother's visage grimaced in pain from Doubar's weight, and in that moment of weakness, the energy from Doubar seemed to be absorbed into Sinbad.

As Doubar pushed himself up a bit, to ease the weight off of his lighter brother, he found himself looking into clear sea blue eyes and a cleanly washed face of his brother.

"Little brother??" he asked uncertainly.

He couldn't believe it.

Was his brother back?

Sinbad sighed warily, pushed himself up to his elbows, and said, "Doubar…why won't you believe me? She's the devil Doubar."

Doubar sighed and answered as he waved his hand towards the red haired angel, "Look at her Sinbad, does she look like a devil to you?"

Sinbad sighed, lightly pushed Doubar up and off of him, and said as he knelt down at his brother's feet, "Doubar, please believe me…she's **The Devil**, she's Scratch in disguise."

Doubar's whole posture froze. Could his brother be right? Could this innocent baby be the goat-hoofed demon in disguise?

Doubar's arm was suddenly seized by tiny hands and a frightened pair of sea blue eyes looked up at him beseechingly, "No! He's lying Uncle Doubar! Please don't let him hurt me!"

Doubar's conscious was once more sending warning signals to his brain. Something wasn't right about this whole situation.

Doubar glanced at his brother warily, but Sinbad was still kneeling there on the ground with his head bowed towards him in total honesty.

The girl's sea blue eyes were pouring tears as her tiny hands fisted his shirt with begging hands. Her sniffles lodged a fist in his gut, but Sinbad's words echoed in his head unrelentingly.

'…_she's __**The Devil**__, she's __**The Devil**__…she's __**The Devil**__…she's Scratch in disguise…'_

Doubar wanted to believe Sinbad.

He did.

But that tiny lass had already grabbed his heart with her adorable face…

On the other hand, he had been fooled by the demon before…

His brother was still there and unmoving….

He knew he had to make a decision and fast…

He closed his eyes and for a brief moment he wavered in his decision. Was this the right one? Would this ruin him??

He reached over to the tiny hands and reluctantly pulled them off and stepped behind his brother, who with a smile of gratitude towards him, reached for his sword and stood up.

The girl's tears abruptly stopped and her tiny, adorable face transformed into an ugly, sneering visage reminiscent of the goat demon.

"So, you saw through my little illusion tubby, good for you." Sneered the girl as an evil, fiery red, glow began to surround her petite body.

Doubar shuddered in revulsion at the sound of the Demon's voice coming out of the adorable body.

Although he felt a fierce burst of pride at his brother; he knew his faith and loyalty to the young captain hadn't been for not.

Sinbad placed himself between the demon and his brother and said, "You lose Scratch."

The sword sang through the air and met with only air as Doubar was surrounded by a white light.

When he opened his eyes and found himself back inside the circle of white candles with Caipra's old yet beautiful face peering down at him with a soft, loving smile.

As Sinbad rushed to help him stand, Caipra sighed tiredly and said with pride in her voice as se sat back down on her chair, "Well done Doubar, well done."

Doubar nodded unable to speak.

He had been shaken to the core by this test, and a part of him hated Caipra for making him go through it, but at the same time he felt even more resolute in his position, forever behind and supporting his brother in all life's struggles and adventures.

Bryn looked about them, night was falling, but no one seemed to be tired.

In fact, Rongar, Firouz, and even Doubar, though wary, seemed energized and eager for more.

She gulped and said bravely, "I'll go next."


	9. Chapter 9

The Return of Maeve 9

Bryn's Unknown

Bryn wasn't so sure about doing this.

So far, no one had discussed just what they had been through, for fearing this Turok would hear and kill Maeve anyways; but she really wanted to know so she would have at least **some** idea of what her test would be.

Would she have to test some unknown portion of her past, or will she simply have to give her life for an innocent?

Worse, it seemed, Caipra seemed to know exactly what they were getting themselves into.

Bryn was conflicted.

She wasn't sure what to think of the old sorceress.

Caipra was old and wise and seemed to know everything. Which, according to Sinbad, was where her powers lay; with knowing things.

This also seemed to indicate that Caipra knew about her and her hidden past, and wasn't telling her.

She was upset yet relieved at the same time by that fact.

She wanted to know her past and yet a tiny part of her that feared what she had been before the storm and her bracelet didn't want to know anything. That part of her wanted to simply remain Bryn, a crewmember on the Nomad, and to hell with her past.

But, she also knew that somehow and someday, she'd remember, and perhaps with Caipra's help it would lessen the blow?

She was sitting cross-legged on a hand weaved matted rug and tried to control her breathing. For some reason, this calming exercise she used worked all the time, and it was as if she had done it hundreds if not thousands of times before.

Perhaps, it was another hint to her unknown past.

After an hour of silence that wasn't uncomfortable but calming, for all were friends there, Caipra said, "I am ready."

Bryn took a deep breath to settle her nerves and laid down in the white candled pentangle, and as she crossed the lines of the star, she felt warmth enter her heart and soul.

She gasped in surprise.

Sinbad immediately asked, "Are you all right Bryn?"

Bryn raised her head towards him and with a great, beautiful smile on her face said, "I'm fine, the star, the pentangle, and it just gives me such a warming and comforting feeling…like it means something wonderful to me."

Caipra placed her hand on the younger sorceress shoulder and said, "Come…"

As she lay down in the white star, she closed his eyes and almost immediately felt warm and comfortable as Caipra conjured,

"_**From this hour until your return,  
this candle of hope I will let burn.  
My lord and lady, watch over you.  
Keep you safe, from harms view.  
From now until you return to me.  
This is my will, so mote it be."**_

With a flash of white light Bryn's body lay still and only the soft up and down motions of her chest gave way to the fact that she was alive and not dead.

Bryn was shocked to actually feel her soul leave her body and raised upwards towards the ceiling. Instinctively she began to thrash around and try to stop her soul from leaving the room she was in, when she distantly heard a female's voice, (Caipra's?) soothingly say, "Relax Bryn, it will not harm you."

The voices were so familiar to her. As if it was ingrained in her very psyche. She **knew** she could trust it, and so she calmed down and knew nothing more….

"I'm sorry, my child." Whispered two voices simultaneously, different from the first one because they couldn't prevent what Rumina, Scratch, and Turok were going to put her through.

Tiny drops of water repeatedly fell in a hypnotizing rhythm that sent shocking bolts of twitches through his body.

His current hiding place was not a preferable one.

He knew his daughter and the evil yet sporting goat were around here, somewhere dryer, but he didn't care at the moment.

His gaze was locked onto the scene being revealed to him in his seeing pool.

Inside the pool was a young woman with red hair sleeping peacefully; content in her knowledge that her Master's spell of protection, which shimmered green in his eyes, was working fine and no darkness could reach her.

Enraged by DimDim's ingenuity, Turok raised his long black clawed hand and yelled.

Dozens of black lightning arched from his slightly charred fingertips and slammed into the woman's visage in the pool.

Unfortunately, just as it seemed as if DimDim's green protection spell would waiver and disperse another younger power joined DimDim's and encircled the red head.

This power was a light yellowish white; a sure sign of the sorcerers' strength and endurance.

He had a sinking feeling he knew whose power it was too. Even though she was unconscious, Maeve's inherent powers, blessedly given to her by the Goddess she worshipped, were supporting DimDim's attempts at protecting her.

And to his disgust, she was succeeding.

He abruptly stood up, and yelled, **"RUMINA!"**

As Bryn opened her eyes, she felt the wonderful warm feelings fade away like the mists in the sun. Instead, slow gut wrenching jolts of fear slammed into her and caused her to falter in her steps, which at first, had been strong and confident.

All she could see was a gray mist that swirled around her; all she could sense was a male's presence all around her; watching her….

…teasing her as they lightly brushed up against her like tiny fingers running through her hair or lightly running up and down her arms and legs.

She crossed her arms and slammed her legs together in an attempt to defend herself from this, for it felt like a malevolent presence.

There was no light source of any kind, and yet, she could see the mists around her perfectly.

She could also feel solid ground beneath her feet.

It was a feeling of security.

A hollow one though, for though solid, it made her quiver in fear because she could hear the hollow void just under her feet like she was walking on a sheet of glass.

To further her fear, she could hear echoing footsteps getting louder and louder.

This person, who was not her, was getting closer and closer as his steps got louder and louder.

She knew she had to do something, but she was unsure of where to go.

Hesitantly, she called out, "Hello?"

Her voice echoed through the fog, yet no one answered her.

Just those annoyingly, frightening foot steps.

Then, just as panic began to set in and regret for undertaking this test began to grow in her mind, a sound, a sound that didn't belong in this mist, caught her attention.

Hopeful to get out of this as quickly as possible, she ran towards the sounds of people talking and swords clashing.

Even if she had to go into a war zone; it was better than this.

She hadn't realized that the mists were parting to make a pathway for her to run through.

She ran for a few miles it seemed, and then she spotted it.

The sound wasn't from people per se, but from a bubble about 10 centimeters wide and ten centimeters long. (5 inches wide and 5 inches long)

Bryn bent closer to it and saw tiny figures on the soft color twirling surface of the bubble. Without thinking about it, she placed her finger on the surface and like it was water her finger sank beneath the bubbles soft round orb.

There in her minds' eye ghostly, faded figures were fighting.

_One was her, maybe a few years younger than now, and she appeared to be fighting a dark hared man in finely made clothes. Both her past self and the man had a royal standing even as they fought furiously with swords._

Bryn's consciousness was yanked back into itself by a harsh hand.

With a terrified scream, for she could see no one around her; she only felt that male's presence; she again, spied a bubble harmlessly floating behind her.

Mocking her with both knowledge of her past and the pain it put her through.

She bit her lip.

Did she **really** want to know?

She snorted and added, "Do I really have a choice?"

Cautiously though, she poked her finger through the bubble's surface.

_Unlike before where she and an older man were fighting furiously with one another, they were now standing in richly, courtly clothes hugging each other close._

Once again, though this time was painless, she was pulled out of the bubble.

So bothered and so excited by this find she hadn't even realized that there was no sound aside from the first sounds she had heard which lead her here.

Who was this man?

He was older than she.

The wrinkles on his brow and around his eyes and his gray hair were evidence of that.

But were they enemies or allies?

Were they friends or foes?

Were they family or lovers?

That last one caused her to shake in revulsion.

Somehow she knew, deep within her soul, that this man was **NOT** her lover.

So involve with her thoughts, she didn't even acknowledge the male's presence as it swirled around her angrily.

It didn't like being ignored.

Especially by a young know-nothing sorceress.

Turok glared at the brunette and grinned.

It was almost time to confront his wife's past.

The gray mists were swirling around her once more leading her through the chaotic place she found herself in.

After what felt like another few miles, she found bubble number three.

She paused.

Would this one be painful or painless?

Would this show her the man from before or someone else?

Would she be shown as a good person or an evil one?

The last two bubbles showed two aspects of herself.

She had been fighting the same man she had later hugged. Was this in chronological order or was it mixed up to disorient her?

Just what was this test about?

She sighed and touched the bubble.

_She and _ were laughing gaily._

_She had just revealed to _ that Tsar had tripped over his own two feet into a mud puddle, thoroughly embarrassing himself in from of his newest beau, and the two of them were laughing out loud with more spectacle than they had laughed in a long time._

__ gave her a mischievous look and wiggled her fingers. _

_She gasped aloud with shock and cheer. Fire, reddish orange in hue danced around her happily echoing what the summoner felt._

_With a grin of her own, ghost-like-Bryn, waved her hand and a head sized granite rock floated into the air._

__ laughed and waved her hand too._

_The fire swirled and danced around her rock._

As she was pulled out painlessly, Bryn smiled. She was almost positive that this proved that she was a good person. She and the other girl appeared to be friends and seemed to be practicing their magic together.

She had a feeling that she knew this girl very well too. In fact, that girl gave her a feeling of friendship, family, and love.

She felt her heartbeat rise in alarm though as a fourth bubble floated into her line of vision.

This one, would it cause her pain? She had experienced one with pain and two that didn't. She had a feeling that this one would be pain filled on the pull out and she couldn't do a thing about it.

Why hadn't her magic done something when the first one had hurt her? Magic was with her all the time and she knew that her magic was with her still in this place. She could feel in under her skin just itching to do something; but something was holding it back.

She placed her finger in the bubble and gasped.

_There she was, she had no idea where she was, but she was fighting a woman with red hair, different and older from the first one. Behind her was a village burning to the ground._

_People were screaming._

_Smoke was coating her lungs as she laughed with perverted glee._

_The mud that coated her boots was tinged with a reddish hue._

_Blood._

_Bryn felt herself get sick, as the her in the dream bubble, laughed at the blood, dead bodies, and destroyed village._

_She (the she in the bubble) laughed as the red head, dressed in a white, flowing dress, threw a brown colored spell at her. She batted it aside like it was nothing and said something to the red head. _

_The red head screamed something back and while she was distracted by a man, with raven hair and looked a little like her, with a sword coming at her, threw another spell that hit her and threw her into a large granite rock._

Bryn felt the pain as her dream-like self hit the two ton boulder head first.

Bryn cried out in pain as she fell to her knees.

Tears of sorrow and guilt fell from her eyes unchecked.

She didn't care about this unknown man seeing her weakness.

How could she do that?

How could she laugh at innocents and their pain?

What had happened between the first dream bubble and the one she just looked at?

What had caused her to travel down such a dark path?

As she shivered and cried, a person spoke to her in a monotone voice, "You now have a choice. You have seen memories of yourself both good and evil. Which is true of your particular pedigree?"

Bryn's shocked face was greeted by Scratch himself.

The goat demon hadn't changed since the last time she had seen him. His horns still carved up from his forehead and his beard still jutted out from his chin.

His lower half looked more like the myths of the Fauns than a goat, but that didn't mean anything to her at the moment.

She was pissed!

Who was he to mess around with her emotions like this for?

Like she was stupid enough to fall for one of his tricks!

He was obviously doing this to confuse her and destroy their chances of finding and rescuing Maeve!

She then felt a wonderful tickle in her eyes.

She smiled.

Scratch, who had seen Bryn's eyes start to gain a golden gleam in them, raised a hand and said in his scratchy goat-like voice, "Now, now, Bryn, a girl of your pedigree shouldn't fight against those who are on your side."

Before she could ask what he meant, a twister of gigantic proportions and power appeared beside the demon and sent Bryn flying through the air once more.

She wondered if she'd hit a rock like she had in the last dream, but unfortunately, all she hit was the glass-like solid floor.

When the twister vanished, a man with inky black hair appeared.

His skin was pale as snow and his eyes darker than the darkest night.

As she stared at him, those dark eyes seemed to drawl her into their nothingness.

She gasped and shut her eyes.

Those eyes were empty.

There was nothing there.

No emotion.

No self-being.

No magic, though she knew he had it.

And most importantly, no soul.

But, he had magic, so he must have a soul; dark and ghostly unseen as it was apparently, for magic existed in the soul.

As her eyes shot down towards the ground they stood on, she saw his nails. They were six centimeters long and sharp. (3 inches long) She hoped she didn't let him get close enough to harm her with them.

Then she grew defensive.

He was the presence she had felt all this time!

With her eyes threatening the shoot bolts, for lightning was beginning to grow from them, she demanded, "What is going on?"

Scratch and Turok stared at her and Turok said with a black nail pointed at her, "This is your test. Who are you?"

Bryn's eyes sizzled out in her shock.

They couldn't be serious, could they?

Like she was going to fall for this trickery?

She was obviously a good person!

They are conjured those evil versions of her to get her to fall for their schemes.

She raised her head and said easily and confidently, "I'm a practitioner of white magic! Those other images were tricks demons!"

Scratch threw back his head and laughed.

Turok sighed and shook his head at her like she was an ignorant child; like she didn't understand the consequences of her actions.

Before they could continue, reluctantly for this was one of the requirements of the spell Turok had cast, a bright green glow blinded them all.

When they could see once more, they saw a ghostly image of DimDim hovering above the ground.

Bryn felt relief flood her system.

Even though she had never met the man, she could recognize his power.

He was powerful.

"DIMDIM! How are you here?" roared Turok as he backed away from the image in his shock.

He would protect her.

DimDim image shimmered as he stared at Bryn solemnly and said apologetically, "Bryn, the memories you saw…all of them were true."

Bryn's legs collapsed under her.

Devastation threatened to drown her soul.

She didn't want to believe it.

But why would the old Master lie to her?

Distantly, she heard Scratch and Turok were pleased at her pain.

Bryn's eyes, which stared unseeingly up at the old magician, revealed all that she was feeling.

Confused: why was this happening to her?

Scared: what would become of her now that she had sins of evil upon her soul?

Bryn's breath heaved in her chest. Her hands trembled with panic and adrenaline flowing through her veins; sweat tickling down her temple and splashed into her eyes as her eyes twitched in nerves.

In an attempt to regain some control, Bryn chuckled uncomfortably and asked, "Wha…?"

Scratch laughed at her pain and demanded once more, "Who are you little girl? **Who are you?**"

Bryn closed her eyes and raised her hands to her ears to block them all out.

She didn't want to do this anymore!

This wasn't a test.

This was torture!

But, she couldn't escape from here until it was over…

And, the others had faced their fears…

Suddenly, determination overcame her.

The other did it; so could she!

All she had to do was believe in herself!

She turned her attention back into herself and let herself remember the four memories she saw.

Two were good.

Two were bad.

Is she good?

Or is she bad?

Bryn really wanted to believe that she was a good person.

She truly did.

But she wasn't sure if she was.

Two of those memories were of her doing bad or evil things.

So, she sat and thought and ignored the other three.

Scratch harrumphed.

Turok glared and his fingers drew blood as they punctured his tensing fist.

They couldn't punish her because the spell prevented them from doing so directly.

They could cause whatever mayhem they could, but only indirectly as they were right now.

Curse Poseidon and his love of the Nomad crew!

DimDim simply smiled and waited.

Bryn could tell he was getting weak.

She was thankful he was here.

It gave her the piece of mind she desperately needed to complete her test.

She wasn't sure if he was really here or if it was the test itself.

But she was thankful all the same.

She took a deep breath and tried to pull forth more memories. After all, four had come to her. Why shouldn't others?

After second, minutes, hours, she didn't know which, Bryn could see herself and a red head, the same from the first memory, laughing and giggling.

_It looked like the same memory as a rock was floating and fire was dancing, but instead of stopping; it continued._

_A woman, a beautiful older woman with blond curly hair, walked up to her younger self and the red head and said something to them._

Bryn pouted.

She was hoping to be able to hear the memory too, but she could not.

She could only guess.

It didn't look like an evil her though.

Here she was laughing and having fun.

The blond woman was smiling lovingly at her and the red head, her friend, her cousin, her sister, she wasn't sure; but it looked happy to her.

So, this meant what exactly?

That she was good?

The memory continued…

_Her younger self and the red head clasped hands, picked up a side of their long white gowns so they wouldn't trip, and raced off to a beautiful white marble building standing proudly over the garden they were in…_

Bryn's eyes popped open and resolve filled her.

She turned towards the three and announced proudly, "I AM Bryn! I AM GOOD! I am NOT EVIL!"

She waved towards Scratch and Turok and said as a golden arch of magic flew from her fingers and hit them squarely on the chests, "Be gone Devil Spawns!"

DimDim smiled at her as white light surrounded her soul.

When she opened her eyes, she smiled.

There was Caipra's beautiful, wise face above her.

She was back.

She was whole.

And she didn't fear her past anymore.

She turned to the others, who were watching her with concerned eyes, and said, "I'm fine."

She added because Sinbad didn't look convinced, "I am, truly."

She gripped his left hand with hers and said as their bracelets glowed, "Truly, I am."

He nodded and stared at Caipra.

Bryn knew it was either him or Dermott now.

In the darkness, Turok growled as he tenderly touched his still smoking chest.

He had underestimated the teachers of his wife's past.

"Daddy! Are you all right!" cried out Rumina as she fell to her knees at her father's side.

Turok pushed his daughter aside impatiently and said, "Get me some wine you insolent girl!"

Rumina glared at him but did as she was ordered.

She wasn't a servant dammit!

She was a sorceress of great power!

How dare he order her as if she was a common servant girl!

Like she was some common wench!

As she brought the pitcher of wine, she turned and spied her father's seeing pool.

Inside its watery depths, were Sinbad and Dermott staring at one another.

And she grinned maliciously yet cleverly.


	10. Chapter 10

The Return of Maeve 10

An Interlude

Rumina growled as she neared her father's new hideaway in the caverns they and the devil were staying in.

The cavern was large and spacious, she had to admit that as she hardly ever saw the damned beast anymore, but it was cold and damp. It made her skin crawl with cool shivers and even worse…it made her hair flat!

With the pitcher sloshing over her hands and drenching her new silk skirt beyond even magical repair, she growled even louder but swallowed it.

This wasn't what she had imagined her new life with her father would be like. Instead of them ruling Baghdad and Basra with a heart and hand of steel, they were constantly on the run; desperately trying to stay out of Dim-Dim's, Caipra's and Sinbad's way.

She wasn't scared of any of them, but her father had, in a fit of odd behavior, decided that they needed to hide and plan for the confrontation between them and the Nomad crew.

She just didn't understand her father anymore.

Before his death, he was confident and proud of his might and power. He killed with no discrimination of anyone or thing. He ruled with a clever ambition for the world to fall at his feet in supreme worship. She loved that part of his personality.

His drive to continue causing mayhem all around the world was an inspiration to her causing her to try and outdo him time and time again.

Unfortunately, she always ran into a pesky little problem every single time: The Nomad crew.

Her father had never shied away from a challenge and he never failed to cleverly come up with in depth plans that could outsmart even the wisest of sorcerers and men.

And then it happened; Sinbad defeated her father.

She felt a tear fall from her hazel eyes at the memory of her father's head falling from his shoulders. It had been the worst memory she had ever experienced in her very spoiled and pampered life.

She had never seen her father defeated before and in her rage, she lashed out at the crew in revenge.

Her lust for the crafty sailor, not withstanding, wasn't enough to stop her thirst for revenge and yet she failed time and again to stop them…she even teamed up with them once just to escape!

But when her father had been retuned to her, she had felt a happiness that she couldn't describe. It filled her with warmth that had amazed her and horrified her.

The warmth was something she had never felt before and it felt nice, but it horrified her as she couldn't cast a spell for three days afterwards.

Her father hadn't been amused by her affectionate loss of magic. No, she could still cast magic, neutral ones that needed neither positive nor negative emotions; she just couldn't cast dark magic.

Her father's return to the world would have been a surprise of the utmost grandeur, but he couldn't **DO** anything as she was powerless and his own magic was less than stellar.

Scratch, even while on a team, played to keep him at the advantage. While he **did** give Turok back his life and the Griffin's Egg did the rest, the devil had used Turok's **own** magic instead of his own demonic ones to reanimate her father.

It had taken her father months of saving his energies before he was able to do the tiniest of spells, and then he had to wait even longer to regain what he had used.

She had tried to help, but he just got angrier and more out of character as the year continued. As much as she cared for her father, he just didn't appreciate her like he used too. And so her powers lessened as well; and his anger grew even higher.

Then, two months ago, Scratch had finally crawled out of whatever hole he had found here, and declared that he had a plan to destroy Sinbad once and for all.

Her father had been intrigued by the thought of using the form and shape of Maeve against the sailor, but she knew it wouldn't work. Either he would see through the illusions or something would fail that would reveal the harpy before Sinbad saw it; it always worked like that.

She had tried to explain this to them both, but they ignored her and called her a child.

In a huff, she had stomped away and declared that they were both idiots who knew nothing of their enemies, and that she hoped they failed.

In her anger, her magic had sparked and arched through her body causing her to gasp in shock and awe. It had been a year to the day since she had felt the delicious darkness running through her veins.

She didn't tell her father or the devil though; she wanted them to continue to underestimate her; if there was anything she had learned from the peasant witch was that it was beset to be underestimated than overestimated because it let people drop their guards around you.

And when the devil's plan failed, like she had predicted it would, her father had concocted this little gem of his to kill the red head and destroy Sinbad and the crew all at the same time.

It had taken her father nearly three months of conserving his magic for this spell and ritual to work, and it would take him six months more to regain his strength; he was losing too.

Only Sinbad, Dermott, she remembered who he is now, and Maeve's tests were left to go.

They'd pass their tests easily. With Maeve's life on the line, Sinbad didn't fail to succeed, ever.

As she arrived with the pitcher of wine, she poured the liquid into her father's goblet and glanced down at the glowing seeing pool: Dermott was in the circle now.

She raised an eyebrow and thought, _'Interesting, what will young Dermott's test be?'_

He didn't think.

He jumped off the chair he was resting on and glided into the circle and cocked his head impatiently.

He'd undergo the test next.

It might be his own inherent powers, but he knew Sinbad and Maeve had to go last. Somehow he knew theirs was the most important test and they'd undergo it individually and together at the same time.

Caipra sighed and said, "I'll need more time to rest Dermott…I grow weaker with ever casting I do…"

Sinbad blinked in shock at the hawk's decision and the old sorceress' words.

He was in shock because the staring match between him and Dermott ended rather abruptly, and yet he was relieved too.

He wasn't ready to face his greatest weakness just yet.

He would never be, and he knew it, but he also knew he would have to in order to save Maeve.

He would never let anything bad happen to her.

It had always been his promise.

He had broken his word only once, and he had no desire to ever fail her again.

Yet he knew he would in this; no matter how much he desired not too.

He simply wasn't ready to see what kind of demon he had become while she was gone.

He knew she wouldn't like what he had become.

She would turn him away in disgust, and he would let her.

He deserved it.

As his eyes flowed from friend to friend, he felt a stab of guilt eat away at his newly won confidence and absolution.

All of them had faced their tests courageously, and yet he could not.

Why?

Why couldn't he face his inner demons?

Did he fear the dark so much that he couldn't stand to see what was hidden in him?

Or did he fear it because he knew, unconsciously, what it was that he would see?

For he knew, had always known, since the moment he had met her, that **SHE** was his inner most soul.

He feared to see what she had become due to his sins against the words of Allah and the Mother she worshipped, for it wasn't his soul inside his body; it was hers.

They shared one soul.

His was deep within her, and hers was deeply ensconced in him.

He took a deep breath.

He feared to see what kind of devil he had made her into.

Caipra sighed heavily as she leaned back against the padded chair. She waved the silent concerns of the crew away mindlessly, for she wasn't in any danger just yet.

It was true that she was tired, but she had more than enough strength left in her to cast two more spells.

She just needed to rest and to meditate.

As she closed her eyes, she pondered on the balance that always weighed her down or lifted her up depending on the situation and how it affected the world at large.

She hated this aspect of her magic. It made her uncomfortable to know how things affect others and yet not know of the events that led up to them.

It always made her feel like she was an unwilling witness to some supreme beings manipulations of the world, and yet she was nearly powerless to stop those events from occurring.

She knew how it would affect those around her, and yet she could do nothing but sit and watch as it happened because she wasn't a key point in this fight.

She was an observer and nothing more.

The weight, the heaviness was slowly abating.

It was giving way.

It gave way with every success against Rumina, Scratch and Turok.

But they still had a long way to go.

The heaviness still coated their souls.

It smothered their lights, their souls.

It made sensing Sinbad and Maeve very difficult.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Bryn was worried.

She had felt it as her soul rose from her body.

She was positive that the guys were not aware of this facet of the ritual and test.

She wondered if this was a good thing for Dermott to undertake.

He was a hawk and not a human after all.

Firouz was curious about all the tests, but he held his mouth. He didn't want to be the one to end Maeve's life because he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

He wondered, much like Bryn, how this would affect Dermott though.

Would this be a good thing for such a little thing to undertake?

Dermott was smart and a part of their crew; every bit at loved by Maeve as they were, if not more, but he was simply a hawk.

He couldn't do it, he had to ask!

Surely, it couldn't hurt since it was about Dermott and not Maeve?

"Will this be okay for Dermott?"

Caipra quickly assured him, "It will not hurt young Dermott, Firouz, fear not."

Firouz nodded.

He wasn't about to doubt her words; not after the test he had just gone though.

But, humans looked all but dead during the tests, how would Dermott look?

Doubar, unlike the others, was peaceful.

He did worry about the lass, very much so, but after undertaking his test, he knew things would work out all right.

They just had too.

He didn't panic over the questions that were swarming in his head…

Would they succeed?

Would Maeve be alive once all this was over with?

What would she do once freed?

Would she stay with them or leave?

No, those questions weren't as awful to think about as they once were.

Somehow Doubar knew it would all be okay.

Rumina continued to watch her father's seeing pool.

He and the devil had taken off to who knows where in this watery hell they had hidden themselves in, and found that she didn't care.

Now that her magic was steadily coming back with her anger at them both, she had no qualms with not knowing where they were.

Unlike her father's magic, where most of it was tied into keeping him alive on this plane, hers were regaining strength quickly.

She sneered at the Nomad crew.

How she hated them with all her being.

She slammed her fist against the iron metal bowl, and said, "Curse you Sinbad! I'll find someway of destroying you for what you've done to me!"

As the bowl settled down once more, she eyed the captain and began to grin a little.

Up until now, she had stayed out of her father's and Scratch's little tests, but with Sinbad and Maeve's test looming ever closer, she found herself drawn into it's magical web.

She knew she'd be partaking in these last two tests in their stead.

She couldn't wait!


	11. Chapter 11

The Return of Maeve 11

Dermott's Resolve

As he rested on his talons in the pentangle, a very powerful sign of protection to his ancestors and him, Dermott thought about his sister and how they ended up here…..

_**It had all started out innocently enough, he, Maeve- then Maevelynn, and their father Marques Tristan of the House of **__**Palðer**__**, had been training in the emerald grasslands that surrounded **__**Hen Lledrith Llyn (Old Magic Lake), when Rumina arrived in powerful bursts of whirlwinds.**_

_**His father had placed himself before his children to protect them from this powerful woman, though he was twenty-two years old then and his sister fourteen, when their father demanded, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"**_

_**From there, the two females fought a magical battle that left his father unconscious and him unable to do anything except watch them and tend to his father's wound.**_

_**For a time, it looked like Maeve would win, but then Rumina mixed her magics. She used a mix of western elemental magics and the eastern spiritual magics and overpowered Maeve.**_

_**As Maeve roused herself, Rumina had cast a spell and sent it flying towards his baby sister. Dermott knew she didn't see it, and with only two thoughts in his head, 'Eryn…I…' and 'protect my sister' he jumped into the spells' flight.**_

_**It had been painful, terribly so, and when it ended he was permanently transformed into his favorite flying animal, a hawk.**_

**o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o**

Dermott's thoughts were broken as Caipra pushed herself onto her feet and relit the candles as they blew out after each new success.

He cocked his head to the side and took in Caipra's pale visage; her face was lined with age yet still beautiful, yet her eyes were old, terribly old and seemed to hold all the worlds' secrets within them. He knew of her talent in knowing anything and everything that happens, and knew it was both a burden and blessing in disguise. He only wished he could help her more than simply helping the others win in battles that shifted the balance of burden off her shoulders and changed it into blessings that held her up and seemed to make her glide across the very lands they walked upon.

Deep, deep within his heart, in a place he had all but forgotten about, he wished, selfishly so, to be able to help her as a human once more. Deep in this place, he had once loved the hawk form, for it allowed him a freedom none could imagine; now it was a prison that held him tight and bound him to this earth in ways he had ignored in favor of helping his sister travel and find DimDim.

Caipra raised her hands, for the first time to make sure she had more control of her powers and intoned louder than she had before causing the others to worry,

**"From this hour until your return,  
this candle of hope I will let burn.  
My lord and lady, watch over you.  
Keep you safe, from harms view.  
From now until you return to me.  
This is my will, so mote it be."**

**o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o**

As the white light surrounded his tiny form, so fragile, so serene to the others watching him, he on the other hand felt like his entire body was being torn in two.

Every cell in his avian body was being twisted and pulled, pushed and ripped in every direction. The sheer agony of it made him wish for death as he felt his insides being squeezed and deep within he felt a piece of himself being yanked harshly from his unwilling body.

If he could yell, he'd be yelling so loudly and everlastingly, that his throat would be forever destroyed by the pulling and vibrations of his pain filled muscles.

Distantly, he heard an echoing yell answering his own.

**o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o**

Caipra, from where she was resting, far more exhausted than she could ever remember being in a very long time, gasped as a familiar burdening pain gripped her heart and settled uneasily on her shoulders.

The pain was so bad; it surprised her by its severity, and caused her to fall to her knees.

Sinbad, who had remained close to her side in concern for her well being, caught her before she collapsed and heard her whisper in dread, "Rumina…."

Sinbad stared at her horrified as Caipra stared unseeingly over his shoulder and into the mists of knowledge that only she could pierce into.

Sinbad, placed Caipra as gently as possible onto a nearby chaise so she could rest more peacefully, and stared into the pentangle deeply concerned for his feathery-friend.

Sinbad turned his gaze to Caipra as she twisted, still unseeingly into space, and murmured softly with love and hope in her voice but still very weighed down by the burden she was seeing, "Be strong dear Dermott, be strong…"

**o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o**

In a watery chamber, dressed in nothing but the best silks and softest furs a husky voice filled with evil intent purred snidely, "Let the games begin dearest."

**o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o**

Dermott's agonizing screams were so loud in his thoughts, that he was shocked to hear his own voice. His screams, though, continued for a second or two longer as he realized that there was no more pain.

Warily, he opened his eyes.

He tilted his head as the mists seemed to blur around his sight like ghosts in stories do and not look like the thousands of tiny water droplets that he had always seen them as with his hawk eyes.

He cast his gaze all around him, but saw nothing but an empty eeriness of mists that made him vaguely recall the protective mists that surrounded Avalon.

As he raised his wings to push himself off the ground, he blinked in puzzlement for he felt no air flowing around his ultra-sensitive feathers.

Shocked and slightly amused by the fact that he might have to hop his way through this test, he glanced down at his tiny body.

Only for paralyzing shock to overcome his normally calm personality and grip his usually tightly controlled body in its strange grasp.

For he was no longer a hawk.

He was human.

No longer did he have talons and claws, but hands, toes, and toenails.

No longer did he have short legs and an oblong body, but well muscled legs tightly corded and a well muscled torso.

No longer did he have wings.

He had artistically muscled arms, hands, fingers, and fingernails.

No longer did he have a beak or a hawk's head, but a human head and mouth that could actually form words!

Amazed, he ran his hands through his hair and down his chest, arms, and legs.

Breathless and heart beating erratically, he looked about him; desperate to see himself in a mirror.

To see if what his senses of touch and sight were telling him were true.

And then, as if hearing his wordless plea, the mists seemed to solidify into the very object he frantically desired.

Not even thinking about the implications of a mirror rising up from the depths of this supernatural place, and ignoring the warnings deep within his own heart and soul that were screaming at him, he stared at his reflection in awed disbelief.

There before him was a tall, thin yet athletically built man, with sleek, straight black hair with a few braids here and there to strategically keep the long locks out of his face.

There was his dark skin, darker than Sinbad's but lighter by a fair few hues to Rongar's, smooth and soft despite nearly fifteen years of hard work with swords, bows, and other various weapons his uncles and father employed in their work as Knights.

There were his gray eyes, unusually animated by this new change in him and there were his strong facial features with a tattoo on each cheek.

Covering his body were the very clothes he had last been in as a human, richly pristine and wealthy but durable. Over his heart cut into four pieces was a shield. The upper left quadrant was painted a dark purple, nearly black color. The upper right was bronze. The lower left was bronze and the lower right was a dark purplish-black. In the center of the shield was a golden panther with its claws extended and its sharp, purple eyes piercing ahead of it. Behind the panther was a Sarmatian bow and arrow both bronze in color. Around the bronze shield was a golden one that proclaimed him as the heir to the House of Palðer.

Still dazed, he stared unseeingly into the mirror before him.

Then, to his surprise, the mirror smirked.

Dermott, jumped back in shock. That shock quickly turned into wariness as he suddenly, to his shame, remembered that he was here for Maeve and not for himself.

His mirror-self stepped forward, crossed his arms and then stepped out of the mirror. His smirk transformed into a smile as he stepped closer to him.

Untrustingly, Dermott stepped backwards away from the identical image.

Again his mirror-self stepped closer to him.

Again he stepped backwards away from it.

Again and again this occurred before his mirror copy's face grew annoyed and he stopped right where he was.

He raised his hands to show that they were empty and took a half-step back. Dermott felt odd feeling of longing to see his face show so much emotion.

Dermott demanded, "Who are you?"

The mirror-image smirked back at him and said coyly, "I'm you; Dermott, son of Tristan and Isolde."

Dermott frowned and demanded again, "Who are you?"

Before the mirror-Dermott could reply, the area around them swam before his eyes.

Dizzy, Dermott stumbled backwards a few steps even as his image stumbled forward in equal measure.

Dermott's gaze grew hazy as the mists faded and the light of dawn rose from nowhere to reveal a flat glasslike ground that they were standing on.

Mirror-Dermott came to his side and said as a beautiful emerald green field, glistening with morning dew was seen, "I am you Dermott."

Dermott stared at the bland gray eyes but said nothing for his gaze was entrapped in the beautiful greens of Albion (England).

More importantly, his eyes were locked on the younger forms of himself and his father sparring with their swords.

Dermott tilted his head in thought.

This was a familiar scene to him.

_Marques Tristan Palðer, Knight of the Round Table, was dressed elegantly yet simply in a dark purple, almost black, tunic with a bronze shield over his heart. His legs were covered in thick yet supply leather that molded to his legs. His belt was black with a bronze panther with purple gems in its eyes and his feet were cover by soft black, leather boots._

_In his hand was his curved blade. The blade he had used since he first arrived in Britain nearly twenty plus years ago when Rome still ruled the island._

_Dermott was dressed similarly except upon his chest was a finely threaded golden trim around his purple and bronze shield._

Dermott knew that over the hill, near the lake that his mother guarded, his little sister, Maevelynn, was seated on a corner stone studying the magic of the flames within her.

He was positive he knew where he was now.

But he was confused.

This was the time he had been thinking of just before his test had begun….

When his life changed irreversibly…

But why was he seeing this?

How was this, his test?

This had already come and gone.

He had watched his sister defend herself and their father from Rumina admirably before Brietta's daughter had mixed her magics.

He had jumped between the spell and his sister; knowing that his duty as a big-brother, a duty he had done dozens of times before without a thought, demanded it of him.

He was proud of doing so, for he took his duty as the eldest child very seriously.

He was proud of his sister too.

Even now, his sister was alive and training even now, trapped though she was, to break Rumina's curse on him.

His double whispered in a friendly tone as he leaned in near, "You know, if Maeve hadn't angered Rumina, you'd still be human…"

Dermott shot his double a slightly annoyed glance and watched as he and his father grew closer to Maeve…

"_You two! How am I to study and improve if you two are bothering me with all your noise!" demanded his younger sister with a tiny grin to dispel the hard words._

His younger self and his father both rather bland of face, normally, grinned at her and his younger self said, _"All the better to help you concentrate sister dear! All the better to help you."_

_Maevelynn, with long, fiery red hair down to her waist and warm, brown eyes flashed him an amused yet annoyed look again. Her cheeks still retained some of their fullness from her young childhood, but her spirit was livelier than ever-even then._

_Maeve wasn't one to take an injustice easily. It was a by-product of having King Arthur as a cousin and uncle._

As Tristan and Dermott fell beside her, his double leaned in and said again, "And just look at us…we were young, strong, virile, and had our choice of any lady in the kingdom…and because Maevelynn couldn't control her anger, we have been stuck in that damned hawk form for ten years now!"

Dermott glared again, but said nothing as the scene continued before his/their eyes…

His double continued, "Think about it, all the good times we've missed by taking that curse instead of Maeve; we have missed family, birthdays, Sabbats, Esbats, and friends…and not to mention walking on two legs and talking!"

Dermott tried his hardest to ignore his double, but his words were affecting him…

He **did** miss his family.

He missed sparring with his uncles and his father.

He missed teaching and training his younger brothers and sisters with all his younger cousins too.

The simple things in life were denied to him as well…

Holding a loved one's hand.

Breathing in the sweet spring or summer's air.

Laughing with friends.

Dancing in the streets.

Picking lovely flowers.

Shaving.

Teasing friends.

Grinning cheekily.

And many, many more…

Once the spell had run its course on him, he had understood, he did, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

**o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o**

Caipra opened her eyes and said loudly enough for the others to hear, though she knew it not for her sight was still in the mists of knowing, "Have faith Dermott, have faith…"

**o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o**

His double, seeing the longing beginning to grow in his churning, slate, gray eyes, continued in a hushed tone as he leaned in closer and whispered into his ear, "Never holding a loved ones hand, kissing them goodnight, dancing under the Goddess' Light!"

Dermott winced with each and every word his double said because the words, however much he's tried to ignore them in effort to support Maeve's mission in learning the eastern magics to free him, the words were true.

Damningly so…

Unseen to him, for he was wincing at the scene and not the double, his double was silently gagging with each sweet word that dropped out of his mouth.

Dermott sank to his knees as he continued to watch with dread in his heart…

_Dermott grinned as his father brushed a kiss across Maevelynn's brow and made to tease her when a powerful whirlwind appeared._

_When the winds ceased, an eighteen year old Rumina gazed at them with a dark, teasing glint in her eyes and a self-satisfied grin on her lips._

_Tristan pushed both Dermott and Maevelynn behind him, ignoring his son's protests and demanded, "Who are you and what is your business being in the Kingdom of King Arthur Pendragon of Camelot?"_

_Rumina crossed her arms, cocked her hip out and leaned on her left leg and said, "I, __**peasant**__, am Rumina, daughter of the greatest dark sorcerer, Turok of Gaul and Brietta of Rome."_

_Maevelynn gasped as she added, "The priestess Aunt Morgawse banished from Avalon!"_

_Tristan's face grew terribly angry as he said, "You're mother was warned to never return, nor was her progeny to ever return here!"_

_Rumina pouted and asked with a tilt of her head and wide, non-innocent, eyes, "And what are you going to do about it, old man."_

_Maeve glared at the woman and declared, "You have been banished from these lands! By order of the Mother of High, Mother Morgawse of Avalon, I, Maevelynn, novice of the Sisterhood, daughter of the Lady of the Lake, Lady Isolde, am charged by Avalonian Law to remove you from these shores."_

_Rumina's stance became more balanced as her hands fell from her elbows and landed on her hips as she said mockingly, "Well, well, well doesn't the little peasant witch know big words."_

_Maeve's eyes narrowed as Dermott said, "Easy Maeve…fighting angry isn't the path to victory."_

_Tristan stepped forward and said as he raised his sword, "Leave now witch before you are banished with more force than your mother was."_

_Rumina smirked smugly and said with a lackadaisical wave of her hand, "Oh, I don't think so old man…I think I'll be staying right here."_

_Dermott and Maevelynn yelled in fear as their father was flung through the air and landed on the very rock Maevelynn was once on. _

_There was a very nasty crack immediately after._

_Maevelynn raised her hands and said as they began to glow with a white hot power, "How dare you!"_

_Dermott, who knew he couldn't interfere with a magical battle, not only was it against certain rules of one-on-one engagement, but he had no magical abilities to utilize in this situation._

_Instead, the animal shape-shifter ran to his father and turned him onto his back. Tristan's temple was marred by a small but gushing, bloody wound._

Dermott bit his lip as his double, leaned in and placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "And look there, she just cockily rushed into the battle with no warning and left both us and dad exposed to whatever spell Rumina could think up."

Dermott sighed.

His evil double had a point.

His sister, even now, had a problem with thinking about the situation before going in and rushing to end the battle; but she was definitely better than what she once was.

It wasn't that he blamed her for what she did.

Truly he didn't.

He just wished he could be human once more.

He wished that he could touch his sister's hair as it danced in the wind.

He wished he could hug his mother and father again.

Most of all, the deepest wish and the deepest regret in his heart, he wished he could see his beloved Eryn once more.

This is where his selfish wish was born from: his love and desire for Eryn.

It was ironic that such a pure love could spawn such selfish need and hate in his heart for his sister's past actions.

He didn't hate his sister-far from it.

He loved her more than any other sibling they had. She was his baby sister, and no matter how many siblings came after her, she was his dearest one and nothing she did could cause him to truly hate her in his heart.

Unfortunately, the love of his sister and his wife-to-be caused this selfish, arrogance to emerge. He knew he had to deal with it too. He couldn't let it fester any longer.

To save Maeve, he had to exorcize this demon here and now from his deepest of hearts.

_Maeve sent a wave of fire so powerful at Rumina that it caused Rumina to stumble and fall on her rear end._

_Maeve smiled with pride and nearly missed the return wave Rumina sent out at her._

_With a thrust of her hands, Maeve created a wall of pure fire in front of her that stopped Rumina's whirlwind attacks. Not by stopping those winds in their place, but by stealing their strength and making her fire grow stronger._

_Rumina frowned as she stood up, wiped her silky pants, and said ruthlessly, "You ruined my pants!"_

_Maeve cocked her own hip, crossed her arms, and said in a similar mocking tone to Rumina's earlier one but hers was more like she was talking to a little child, "Oh…I'm sorry, did I…ruin…your…clothes…?"_

_Dermott sighed and shook his head at his sister's immaturity, but then again what did he expect? She __**was**__ only fourteen._

_Rumina, who had placed a hand behind her back and turned her body in such a way that it wasn't immediately seen by Maeve, conjured a brown spell and cradled it almost lovingly in her hand._

_Dermott who had seen it quickly placed his father's head down, jumped to his feet, and made to run in front of Maevelynn. _

_But…he paused… _

Finally, he admitted it; he missed his lover and fiancé more than anything else in the world. He wished to see her once again and marry her and make an honest woman out of her.

It was she (Eryn) that had made him pause; it had been she who he had made himself forget so he could focus on Maeve and help her through her guilt and pain.

Maeve was arrogant at times, but she was truly a sensitive girl who felt the pain of those closest to her empathetically.

His pain, for he felt a lot during the transformation and later on the pain of realizing that he would never again return to his human form without a **LOT** of training on Maeve's part, was pushed aside for her sake and he never went back to resolve it.

_His pause was only a second, but it was just long enough for him to push Maevelynn out of the way but not to get out of its path himself._

Dermott's double patted him on the shoulder, amiably it seemed with a frighteningly familiar smirk, and said as he stood up and faced him, "You really shouldn't care for her guilt so; it has only caused us pain."

Dermott could remember every cell in his body as it twisted and pulled, pushed and ripped in every direction. The sheer agony of it made him wish for death, all over again, as he felt the memory of his insides being squeezed and deep within he felt a piece of himself being placed safely back in and feeling whole once more.

He smirked back at his double and said as he reached deep within for the spark of magic within him that allowed him to transform in his choice of animals, but before he could change the form before him wavered and began to disappear, "My guilt and pain were my own fault Rumina, not Maeve's. But good try all the same."

Then the forest and the memory vanished as if it were never there.

**o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o**

Rumina, who had been disguised as Dermott's mirror-image, screamed as she was thrown out of the magic chamber and into the stone wall in front of her.

As her form slide sickeningly to the rock floor below, she pushed herself up on to her hands and vowed, "I will have my revenge against you Sinbad! I will!"

Her eyes began to glow a dangerous dark yellow as if to give support to her oath.

**o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o**

Caipra, who had slowly began to feel the burdening weight begin to lift, raised her head from the chaise couch and said soothingly, "All is well."

There was a flash of light and Dermott's hawk body grew animated once more.

The hawk blinked and shook his head as if in confusion and glanced around.

Sinbad saw that his eyes seemed to dim a bit, but amazingly enough, Sinbad saw the determination and resolve there as well.

Whatever had happened, Dermott seemed to find a new purpose from it.

Dermott cocked his head towards him, and a voice whispered with warmth and resolve firmly in place once more, _"That I have, Sinbad, that I have."_


	12. Chapter 12

The Return of Maeve 12

Absolution and Understanding

Part 1

Sinbad felt his nerves begin to fry all along his fingers, toes, joints, and mostly behind his eyes.

He was horrified to feel the tightness beginning to build up behind his blue orbs.

He was filled with so much guilt, experiencing it so much that he was used to feeling it, that he wasn't quite sure he was ready to let it go.

His guilt surrounded his heart and protected him from the sins of his body, even as his heart and soul absorbed his body's past transgressions against his love, his Maeve.

He was guilty of adultery.

Though he had kissed many females, which was bad enough, he had slept with only one.

He had hurt this woman because he had accepted her solace and warmth for a night, and repaid her by calling out his love's name at release.

He hurt himself by lying to his friends and family about his feelings and by closing his heart from the pain he **KNOWS** he was causing.

Lastly, he was hurting Maeve by being with that woman and trying to erase her memory from his heart even as his soul fought to protect her memory.

He didn't want to face Maeve with this guilt, and yet he didn't want to see her without it. She deserved better than what he had given her, and she deserved to see him as he is…a hollowed out shell of the man she once knew.

He begged and pleaded with his heart to hold back those tears, but one escaped his control and fell in a slow trek down his stubble cheek.

Caipra's, who had been watching him closely since she had awakened from her dazed state, eyes swelled in concern for him.

He hated that he was showing his emotions so easily lately, but at the same time he was hopeful that he might be healing from the pains of the past year. He didn't want to lose the discipline he had gain this year, but he wanted his old, carefree personality back as well.

He was tired of hiding his true emotions from his friends.

Those who weren't his friends, who hadn't earned his trust, didn't need to know; but his friends, those who had stayed with him, deserved to know him as he once was.

He swallowed back the lump that had formed when Caipra's old eyes met his and said, "I guess that leaves me, then."

Doubar placed a brotherly hand on his shoulder and asked, "Are you okay, Sinbad?"

He smiled his old smile, one that showed his love for his brother and his happiness for the concern showed, and said, "Yes Doubar, I think I will be."

He had made a promise to himself just then, even if the words weren't uttered, and he would try.

This was his first attempt in bringing out the old Sinbad.

Doubar, Firouz, Rongar, and even Dermott's eyes widened at the smile and tone in Sinbad's voice. That was a tone and sight they hadn't seen in a year!

Caipra's smile was both loving and proud as she said, "Into the circle, love, it's time."

Sinbad eyed the circle and star in white and stepped in.

What would his test be?

Will he see an image or the real Maeve there?

Will she even see him, if she was there?

How could he do this, when he can't even own up to his own faults lately?

Caipra shot him an annoyed glance.

He flushed in embarrassment as he realized he was sliding down a slippery slope once more called guilt and insecurity.

He slowly took a deep breath and laid down.

His last thought before the spell seized him, was _'What will she look like when I find her in my soul?'_

Once he was lying in the circle, Caipra raised her hands, for the second time to ensure her power was controlled and said in a loud voice that grew even louder at the end,

**"From this hour until your return,  
this candle of hope I will let burn.  
My lord and lady, watch over you.  
Keep you safe, from harms view.  
From now until you return to me.  
This is my will, so mote it be."**

Rongar, who was behind the old sorceress, had to lunge a few feet to catch her as she collapsed.

"Caipra!" shouted the others as Rongar picked her up and carried her over to her chaise couch.

Firouz placed a worried hand on her forehead and then placed his fingers just under her jaw bone next to her main artery at the side of her neck.

What he found worried him; her face was feverish and her pulse was weak and the beat was rapid.

He looked to Bryn and said, "Get me some cool water and a washcloth."

Bryn nodded and hurried to get what he ordered.

Her face was white with fatigue and her clothes drenched in sweat. This last attempt, though the others didn't know it, caused her already poor reserves to be all but wiped out.

She had very little left in her, and she still had to cast a spell to help open the way to Maeve.

She didn't know if she could do it.

She really didn't understand why Turok chose this spell. It caused everyone, dark sorcerer and light sorcerer alike, to be cast into specific roles that no one could deviate from.

Was the allure of killing Maeve so enchanting, that he'd given up on his conventional methods of black mail, threats, pillaging, and simple murder or assassinations?

* * *

Deep underground, surrounded by tons of white marble and granite rock, each putting equal tons of pressure on her body, Maeve's glowing green, protective aura flickered.

DimDim's ghostly image appeared, smiled sympathetically down at his beloved student and daughter of his heart as her own magical strength, seen easily by the yellowish light emanating from her silent form, rose up and formed the ghostly image of Maeve.

She blinked at him and then down at her physical body.

Her head tilted.

DimDim shook his head and waved his hand at her.

Her vision grew dim, but she didn't fear what was to come. She was confident in the fact that DimDim would never harm her or place her in harms way.

* * *

Rumina, slowly rising from the hard thumping she had endured from Dermott's test, growled and sneered at her silver seeing pool.

In its glowing waters, she had witnessed DimDim summoning of Maeve's spirit.

She had seen the old Master send the peasant witch into the chambers.

She had seen Caipra do the same thing with Sinbad.

She knew exactly how to bring this situation to heel.

All she had to do now was show Maeve what Sinbad had been up to for the past year, and Maeve would be filled with so much rage and anger that her new power levels would burst free from her control and burn Sinbad to ashes.

Maeve's guilt would then cause her to destroy herself with her own powers in absolution for her sin against her love and against the laws of light magic-never kill in anger.

She looked down at her ruined dress and waved her hand in disgust. Her clothes had been ruined when she was slammed against the rock wall.

Now dressed in a red form fitting dress that clung to her curves and soft red slippers, she walked over to her seeing pool and caressed the images in it.

She subconsciously caressed the ball of Hellfire around her neck and hummed a victorious tune as the spells magic took hold of her and soundlessly transported her to another chamber far from her present accommodations.

As her form, now a dark mist, floated over her enemy's still body, her evil, cruel, hazel eyes gleamed darkly as she tried to escape the spell and enter the deadened body of the Celtic woman.

As she touched the chilled flesh, a soft, yellow glow, surrounded by a powerful, ancient, green aura repelled her quite fiercely.

Glowing more powerfully in rage, she tried again, but was once more rebuffed.

The green light, which was DimDim's aura she was sure, sent out a tendril of power, gripped her tightly in its hold, and in a flash of light she was gone.

* * *

Rumina shrieked in powerless rage as she found herself slammed onto her rear inside a dark cavern filled with nothing but seeing pools and side dishes with different powders beside them.

Each pool showed one person.

She cast her dark gaze around, her magic shimmering gold around her, a physical reaction of her magic, and spied DimDim's elder frame leaning exhaustedly against the wall closest to the pools holding the images of Sinbad and Maeve in them.

Infuriated by his presence, and the fact that she was **still** too feeble against the old fool, she raised her clawed hand and yelled as dark gold arches of lightning flew from her fingertips and slammed into the magician.

DimDim's ghostly green form didn't respond to her yells or her attacks.

His eyes were empty and dead.

Confused and honestly, a bit freaked out, Rumina dropped her hand and the lightning vanished.

He looked at her and said monotonously, "All you can do it whisper in their ears…this is your part to play in your father's spell."

His form waivers like ripples do in a pond and then he was gone.

* * *

Maeve opened her eyes and found herself at the top of a deep and very wide ravine.

She gasped; she knew this place, Camelot and farther up the river, the Isle of Avalon.

She glanced up at the sky and sighed happily as she drank in the cool, misty breezes and the cool, damp air.

She breathed in deeply; relishing the effect that the magically enhanced atmosphere had on her tired body and weary soul.

The sky was blue with puffs of white clouds floating serenely across the blue hues. Some of the lower clouds where darker grey; hinting to possibly rain later on.

Where she stood, she could see the forests of her homeland; the evergreens: the Honey Yew and the Ivy trees where beautiful all year long.

There, from her peripheral vision, were the mountains; they loomed high above her in the distance. Their white peaks disappeared into the clouds' bellies.

Looking down into the ravine, she took a step forward but paused as a loud **crack** was heard and the sound of tumbling rocks reached her ears.

Confused and slightly panicked for old lessons about the faithless and the bitter-hearted appeared in her head, Maeve took a deep breath to calm down and think about what her Aunts and mother had taught her…

Their voices thundered in her head, _**'Only one pure of heart both faithful and unhindered may exist in the spiritual center of Avalon.'**_

She knew this was only a mental representation of Avalon, created in her mindscape to give logic and reasoning for her sanity. In fact, she knew her true physical body was still surrounded by tons on rock.

But, why was her mental representation of Avalon, her representation of her soul, crumbling at her feet?

Again her mother and aunt's words rumbled through her head, _**'Only one pure of heart both faithful and unhindered may exist in the spiritual center of Avalon.'**_

She took a step closer and once again had to step back quickly as a large rock (about five to ten pounds of ten to twenty kilograms) broke from the mountain side she was standing on and fell to the ground hundreds of feet below.

She frowned, crossed her arms, huffed annoyed and grumbled as she stepped back to more solid ground and sat down to think things through more clearly, "Sinbad this is your fault…I know it."

Then her frown deepened at her words. She had blamed her friend and captain yet he wasn't even here.

How could he be the root of her troubles?

That was illogical.

* * *

Rumina, in the cavern filled with pools, smirked and said in a whisper as she bent down over the pool holding her nemesis' picture, "Sinbad has hurt you one time too many Maeve…of course he is the reason you cannot reach peace in Avalon!"

She reached into a side dish beside her, filled with reddish brown powder, and lightly tossed it into the pool.

* * *

Maeve's head shot up as a voice began to whisper in her ear.

A voice she knew and hated venomously.

Her eyes narrowed, but them as a light dust fell from the sky above her, they grew more hazy and unfocused…

"_**Sinbad has hurt you one time too many Maeve…of course he is the reason you cannot reach peace in Avalon."**_

Maeve's eyes blinked open again and she said lightly in protest, showing that she was fighting Rumina for control subconsciously, "But he's not here, how can he be hurting me?"

* * *

Rumina's grin was gleefully, sadistic, and cruel as she waved her hand and a picture of Sinbad and some unnamed woman (Gianna) appeared.

They were kissing passionately.

"_**He made a promise, however much unsaid, to you; to find you; he doesn't seem too interested or eager to look, does he?"**_

_**

* * *

**_

"_**He made a promise, however much unsaid, to you; to find you; he doesn't seem too interested or eager to look, does he?"**_

Maeve's eyes teared up as the voice said those words. She had seen this before, in her own looking pool, and had grown terribly jealous and angry.

DimDim, dear sweet man that he is, had talked to her about it too.

DimDim had told her that Sinbad was simply trying to ignore the pain of loosing her had caused.

DimDim had said that Sinbad didn't want to hurt anymore either.

After a time, she had come to understand this.

Most men responded to pain the same way.

She had heard stories of her uncles and how they dealt with their heartaches and it wasn't any different that Sinbad's. Her aunts had forgiven their men, and had taught her to do the same should she find herself in this situation and her man was truly repentant and remorseful.

'_After all, if a man doesn't orally give his promise to you,'_ they had said, _'he isn't accountable to it no matter what emotions tie them to you.'_

She trusted her aunts, mother, and DimDim and learned, in time, to forgive her captain and friend. They hadn't spoken of such things, before she was taken, so Sinbad really owed her nothing.

But at the same time, she had to learn to give him up a bit so that her own heart wouldn't break with each kiss given to another woman because she loved him still.

And so, her eyes cleared up just a bit as Maeve slowly broke through Rumina's control.

* * *

Rumina frowned, threw in another handful of the reddish brown powder, and waved her hand over Maeve's pool.

* * *

As Maeve's eyes began to clear, she blinked as red dust fell from the sky once more.

She tilted her head up and gasped as the powder touched her again.

And again her eyes grew hazy.

There in the haze of her mind, she watched as Sinbad, the man she loved, though hadn't admitted to loving, kissed another woman; this time a powerful blond (Empress Hitria). Even though she knew this wasn't his fault. The Empress had cast some sort of spell on him.

But again her heart broke at the sight. She loved Sinbad and seeing this all again tore at her still fragile heart.

She closed her eyes and repeated DimDim's words, "He's blocking his heart from the pain of my disappearance. He doesn't love any of them. He's only using them to take away the pain."

But those words, for some reason, weren't making her feel any better.

In fact, they made her feel a hundred times worse.

And another two boulders of rock crumbled away…

* * *

After a few seconds, Sinbad opened his eyes because he was sure Caipra hadn't started yet, and to his surprise, found himself in a dark cavern fill with rocks of all shapes and sizes. Some where hanging from the ceiling and other jutted out from the floor.

Dark crevices hid shadows that tried to claw at him like a predator ready to pounce…

And he was their unwilling prey.

He yanked his sword out of its sheath.

He shivered; an apt analogy representing Scratch and his desire to devour his soul whole.

The only light that he could locate came from his rainbow bracelet and an eerie, dull, blue light that emanated from the rocks around him.

The lights from the rocks weren't very powerful. They were just enough to prevent him from stumbling around like a common drunkard.

Confused, he stumbled through the mammoth cavern trying to find an exit or at least a pool of water to quench his sudden panic attack.

Water, any water, calmed him down.

'_It must be the sailor in me,'_ he decided.

Each rock's tip appeared to be handcrafted by the world's most magnificent mason. Each tip appeared to have tiny crystals that illuminated the rocks with a breathtaking, inner glow.

He raised his bracelet and let the red and green bands of light shine out into the cave like a lantern.

His panic dwindled just a bit with the additional light.

Now at lest, he could see if something attacked him from the shadows.

And to himself at least, he admitted, he was also hoping that the bracelet's bands would keep back the shadows that hunted him ravenously.

Suddenly, in front of him, were three different passages.

He lowered his bracelet in confusion and instinctively held up his sword in defense, but nothing came out of any of them.

Instead, his bracelet let out a soft hum and softly pulled him in the direction of the first corridor on the left.

He was helpless.

He had to follow.

* * *

In and underground cave with water sweating up the cavern walls, Scratch and Turok watched Rumina as she tore Maeve's heart apart bit-by-bit.

Turok, who was very discontented with the limits Scratch had created in him with his magic and angry with Rumina's deception, raised his black one inch long nails.

Scratch raised and eyebrow at the evil sorcerer's actions and chuckled.

He teased with a bullying tone of voice, "You'll only waist more of your precious sorcery, Turok."

Turok growled, spun to the devil he was somewhat allied with (unwilling he privately added), and ground out, "If you had simply let the Griffin's Egg destroy everything, even my head, **THEN** resurrect me once again, this wouldn't have happened!"

Scratch snorted at his ally and stated rather lackadaisically, "I did, but what you nor that meddling messenger, Caipra, don't understand, is that being resurrected has a price. The Griffin's Egg **DID** destroy you. It didn't take the spell and amplify its summative reaction (end result). I **DID** use the ambient magic though, and with my own spells of deviousness, resurrected you once more."

He waved his hand and said cheerfully as Turok's face morphed into a visage of astonishment, "What? Did you think I'd let the chance of controlling one of the world's most powerful dark sorcerers pass me by? What kind of devil do you take me for?"

Turok's hands trembled with impotent fury. He knew his limits. If he cast anymore spells, especially one designed to hurt a devil of Scratch's power, he'd be powerless for a year, if not more.

Instead, he bit his lower lip until it bleed.

He spun back to the seeing pool and sneered at his once favorable daughter.

Scratch was right.

If he used what little he had managed to save up, simply to attack his idiotic daughter, he'd have no magic for two days-at the least.

He pursed his lips though as he spied the dazed Maeve. Perhaps, this was the way to defeating Sinbad and destroying Maeve after all.

He'd get his ultimate revenge on Sinbad and kill Maeve all at once.

Perhaps, he hadn't made an error when he picked this spell after all.

Unfortunately, this spell used so much strength and power to cast; it had set him back by a year to the day.

This was why it was only coming to fruitation now; instead of when he first cast the spell that had thrown Maeve overboard a year ago.

The loss of his magic for one year…

That had been the price of beseeching Poseidon's blessings he supposed.

Scratch saw all this and sneered.

From his lazy stance against the wall, he asked somewhat curiously, "Why are you so intent on killing the red headed girl?"

His smile was cruel, "Do you fear her so much that letting her live makes you nervous?"

Turok glared at him over his shoulder. His eyes gleamed gold, like his daughter's, turned back to the pool and saw Maeve's soul room.

It was a beautiful work of art crafted by the Great Mother herself.

A ravine both wide and deep spanned his vision.

The land was a deep green; greener than the most expensive emeralds.

With evergreen trees filling the air with sweet scents.

Along the ravine's rocky walls were several winding paths down into the land of his wife's past life.

The river below, so pure and blue, was propelled by nearly a dozen or so waterfalls at random intervals.

The only wall that held no pathway down into the ravine cradled the temple of Avalon. Its pinkish white marble glittered in the spare sunlight.

Avalon's temple was surrounded by a turquoise blue lake.

He had thought his wife's descriptions to be flawed in some way, but seeing it now, even through Maeve's eyes, made him believe in the impossible.

Avalon was an island, for the ravine's rock wall was a curious phenomenon. This portion of the rock ravine was broken from the ground to the top where Maeve sat dazed.

This allowed the river to surround the Temple of Avalon; making it an island inside a river, inside a rocky ravine.

The whole place was somewhat veiled by the mists that saturated the island of Albion naturally; Avalon was doubly blessed with those mists.

A secondary protection.

The ravine was the first.

Even to his darken mind and heart, Avalon was beautiful.

"Well?" drawled the annoying voice of Scratch as fire spewed from his mouth.

Perhaps he was feeling friendly or perhaps it was a new desire to rebel against his 'master', or he simply wanted the devil to leave him alone, but he answered, "Maevelynn is descended from the family that banished my wife, Brietta, from Avalon. Isn't that motive enough to want her dead?"

The fire grew bigger and hotter with his incomplete answer.

Turok sighed and added in exasperation and anger truly in his voice, "With her being hidden by that meddling DimDim, we are **ALL** in limbo! The war cannot conclude without **ALL** the players on the board, you know that!"

Sadistically, gleeful Scratch said, "So, you cast a spell meant to kill Maeve and the others, but instead you have helped them heal old emotional scars we could have torn open again and used against them."

Turok growled once more and said weakly, "It was the only way to get her **OUT** of the protections DimDim cast on her!"

Scratch continued heedlessly to Turok's protests about his great plan, "You beseeched a God who showed favor to Maeve and those maggots of the Nomad and now you cannot stop it!"

Turok, having finally reached his melting point, yelling in fury, spun around and threw arching black lightning at the demon of the West.

Scratch chuckled and said, "That tickles Turok, do it again."

Exhausted and defeated, Turok fell to his knees gasping for breath.

Just before he vanished in a ball of Hellfire, the demon said, "And now, it looks like they will save the red headed peasant after all. Good work Turok, I'll be back to collect my things later."

Then he was gone; and Turok was helpless.

The only thing he could do was crawl over to the seeing pool and watch...hoping his daughter succeeded where he had failed.

Now, instead of using the ambient magic to destroy DimDim's dimension, he'd use it to break that demon's dastardly, controlling, resurrection spell.

No one controlled him.

No one.

* * *

As reached the end of the long, empty, tunnel, he found himself in another cave, smaller than the first, with a tiny pool of water right in front of him.

Tired from all the walking, he sheathed his sword, sat down on a flat rock close to the pool and closed his eyes.

When he opened them, he jumped back in shock. There in the pool was a scene he had no memory of.

But it felt like a real one.

His bracelet's glow grew warmer and more comforting as if to support his previous feelings of truth and honesty.

He turned back to the picture in the water and watched as it came to life….

_Seventeen year old Doubar was watching his little brother sleep. Sinbad was a precocious nine year old and simply loved adventures._

_He placed his large hand on Sinbad's tiny cheek softly and said, "I'll protect you, always, Sinbad. I'll never let anything hurt you, my son."_

_Doubar placed a paternal kiss on Sinbad's cheek and silently exited the bedroom._

Sinbad touched his cheek and felt warmth enter him from the exact place Doubar's younger self had kissed his child-like self.

Curiously he wondered why his test showed him this. It didn't challenge him at all. All it did was make him feel empowered.

Then he remembered Doubar earlier words, _"You, Sinbad, you are the child I always wanted when I grew to understand what fatherhood meant. I never wanted another. I had you, so please…please…by the grace of Allah, let the guilt go. I don't blame you, so neither should you."_

He understood now.

He was absolved of his guilt and was allowed to move on and grow as a healthy person always does.

He was allowed to grow into a good, pure-hearted person.

And another scar, previously healed over, a bit, healed completely at last.

His vision was marred by a flash of white light.

_When he could see again, he found himself in a room that was filled with all kinds of drying or dried herbs, mortars and pestles, and shelves of books._

_The table was covered by a runner made of red linen and had a bowl of fresh fruit on the center of it._

_In front of him was his friend, Firouz and his lady, Velda._

_They looked to be in a serious discussion._

_Then, like someone had unplugged his ears, he could hear what they were saying._

"_You could stay here with me Firouz; we need all the help we can get."_

_Firouz, who was mashing some herbs in the mortar, looked up and said sincerely, "I'd like to, but the others, they're my family."_

_Velda put down the book she was reading, stepped close enough to touch his heart and said sweetly, "We can make a new family here."_

_Firouz put down the pestle and countered, "You could come with us on the Nomad."_

_Velda's hand fell from his chest as she said with a shake of her head, "I don't travel by water well, and I couldn't leave these people without a healer."_

_Firouz placed his head on her cheek softly and said, "Then…we are parting then…"_

_Velda gripped his hand with her own and said as a tear began to well in her eye, "Sinbad will let you come back for rest, for sure."_

_Firouz nodded but said unconfidently, "Of course, but I don't know when that'll be, my dear."_

_Velda's tear was the only one that fell as her face grew stronger and she stated seriously, "He needs you."_

_Firouz added, "They need you."_

_Velda's smile was wistful and sad and hopeful, "Till next time then…"_

_Firouz nodded and said, "Yes."_

_Together they leaned in and kissed._

Sinbad felt his face burning in embarrassment.

He hadn't wanted to intrude on an obviously tearful and meaningful good bye, but he couldn't control these visions.

What was this all about?

Why had it showed him Firouz saying good-bye to Velda?

Was it trying to make him feel sorry that they had chosen to go their separate ways?

A jolt ran up his back.

…that they had **chosen**….

**Chosen!**

He didn't need to feel guilty about tearing Firouz and Velda apart! It was their decision, not his!

He had no part in it!

And another scar healed itself up completely.

Then he was surrounded by the white light again.

Surprised, he looked around and found himself in the main cavern once more.

It was as dark and dreary as ever.

The blue light still hovered above the rocks they grew out of and yet…

…and yet the light seemed brighter somehow. Like an additional optimism was growing inside them.

It made the cavern less menacing and much friendlier.

And the shadows seemed more hesitant to come out now.

The predator was curious about it's prey's next move it seemed.

His rainbow bracelet's glow illuminated the path straight ahead; the second passage was calling.

* * *

Rumina whispered maliciously into Maeve's ear as yet another woman (Dara) kissed her Sinbad, _**"He doesn't seem to love you at all, does he? Just look at that all those women. Look at how he holds them. Look at how his eyes smolder into theirs. He's never held so much passion for you, has he?"**_

Maeve's tears fell unheeded down her pale cheeks.

Her greatest weakness, her greatest insecurity was her heart.

She loved deeply and fully.

Once her heart was given to its chosen mate that was it.

Whether he knew it or not, Sinbad possessed her heart and soul, every last bit of it.

To witness him stomping on her heart again and again without a care to her well being or emotional breakdown caused a rage to grow fiercely in her heart and soul.

She had never been a particularly confident in the opposite sex. The family was very protective of her, so the only males she had been around were family members.

Her brother had been stolen from her when she was fourteen, and she had decided to travel the world seeking a tutor in the Eastern Arts. It had been her fault after all. If she had not been so proud and cocky, Dermott wouldn't have ended up permanently as a hawk.

Before that, she had been totally focused on her Priestess training and elemental powers.

She had no time for boys or men.

Her father and uncles were proud; she was naturally beautiful and had young men and older ones crawling after her wherever she went.

Not that she had noticed then.

And then she had found DimDim and focused all her attentions on learning new magics that would help her defeat Rumina once and for all and free her brother.

By the time she had begun to listen to her heart, it had fallen head over heels in love with the silly boy captain and would not let go.

She hadn't wanted it to either.

And now, her insecurities about relationships, romances in particular, were shaken to their very core.

She didn't know if she would forgive him for this…

DimDim's words, still whispering lightly and delicately in her ears, were having less and less effect on her as Rumina added in a deceptively nice tone.

"_**Look, he has even kissed Bryn hasn't he…?"**_

Even as this image burned itself once more into her head for a second time in her life, Maeve clamped her hands down over her ears and muttered to herself, "He's suppressing his pain. He does this to not feel the pain of loosing me. Pain causes men to do uncharacteristic things."

The image waivered again and showed Sinbad once more kissing her cousin, Bryn.

Maeve didn't hold Bryn accountable for betraying her as she felt Sinbad had.

Bryn had lost her memory when she flew off the Purity, Bryn's personal ship, and into the stormy sea.

Sinbad had found her on the island later that same day…

…the same day she fell off the Nomad.

Sinbad knew his heart wasn't his to slander about as he was.

Sinbad though, her heart quaked, shivered with chilling, maddening, rage that caused her entire body to seize up.

Tears of pain, tears of hate, tears of broken love lost, and even a shred of tears of hope and tears of love fell from her tumultuous brown eyes.

"**SINBAD! SINBAD YOU BASTARD! I HATE YOU!" **

As she screamed this into the heavens, a whole mountain side of rock crumbled on the opposite side of the ravine.

The way to Avalon was closed to her now.

"Sinbad…" she growled hurtfully.

* * *

Rumina smirked smugly as she watched Maeve's insecurities fill her heart and mind.

Of course she knew her words were false, but to Maeve, who thought her voice was the red head's own consciousness, it was pure torture.

She went in for the kill…

* * *

Maeve, who was bent over sobbing terribly into her arms, yelled in pain as yet another vision of Sinbad and a woman (Shirez) filled her eyes.

She could no longer see her beloved Avalon.

All she could see was the crew of the Nomad and she, unfortunately, could hear everything…

_Bryn stepped down, brushed aside a strand of straight brown hair and asked Doubar and Firouz, "What's the delay?"_

_Doubar answered, "We still have a passenger on board."_

_Firouz added a bit awkwardly, "She's getting a ships tour."_

_Bryn smirked a bit and replied, "Ah, that's what you call it?"_

_Then as Bryn passed by the door leading below deck, it opened to reveal a beautiful red head women wearing a scandalously low cut blue gown that showed off entirely too much skin and cleavage and a black traveling cloak and Sinbad with his hair looking like she had spent a lot of time running her hands through it._

Maeve screamed in pain as her mind filled in all kinds of activities they could have done that necessitated that particular desire.

_Shirez smiled desiring into Sinbad's own as she said, "I didn't know ships quarters could be so…exhilarating."_

_Sinbad smiled smugly down at her, as if he was proud of himself as he placed a hand behind her head and pulled her in for another passionate, sexy kiss that left both him and her breathless._

Maeve's body was now trembling with so much rage and heartache that her body was beginning to glow with a bright yellow light.

_All the others were politely looking away._

Oh how she **WISHED** she could do the same!

But this voice and this vision would not let her be!

And her magic grew more as her heartbreak grew.

_She started with a knowing gleam of lust, "Next time your in port…"_

_Sinbad ended with an ease of someone saying this many times now, "Yea…"_

_She gave a sultry laugh and leaned in for another kiss._

_He kissed back with equal fervor._

Maeve didn't know love could feel this terrible! Why would anyone put themselves at such a risk for so much pain and heartache? It didn't seem logical to put oneself through all this pain, so why was her heart not letting him go?

Why was it holding on so desperately to the man who had shredded it to pieces?

Why?

**WHY?**

_**WHY? **_

Somewhere deep inside, a tiny voice, her true voice, whispered into her ear, to softly for her conscious mind to hear through all her anguished screams and painful tears, "Because love is as painful as it is healing, you love him, and he truly, sincerely loves you too…"

And there, before her, without her noticing it, a golden portal appeared. It shimmered a bit and then solidified into a doorway that revealed a gorgeous, blue cavern on the other side.

* * *

Sinbad entered the cave at the end of the second corridor.

Just like before there was a pool of water waiting patiently for him.

He sat down and watched…

_It was Rongar and his sister, Zorah. They were sitting on plush pillows of all sorts, all kinds of rich colors. On the table was a fruit bowl and beside Rongar was a brownish red traveling cloak._

_Zorah's hand was resting lightly, sisterly on Rongar's face._

_Her hand glowed a soft greenish-blue color._

_Zorah and Rongar's eyes were peacefully closed, and yet their eyes were easily seen moving under their lids._

Sinbad knew they were seeing something with the help of magic.

_Then the glow vanished._

_Zorah and Rongar's eyes opened._

_Zorah's hand fell to her lap and she stated calmly yet warmly, "I understand brother. Your life as a prince was stolen from you and you created another as an adventuring sailor…go and always know that there's a place to rest for you here."_

_Rongar and Zorah hugged tightly in goodbye and Rongar put on his travelling cloak and pulled up the hood._

Sinbad smiled.

That must have been before he rejoined the crew on the Nomad, just after he bid farewell to Shirez.

He winced at that.

Of all his mistakes, she was the one he regretted the most.

She was the one he committed true adultery with.

What was worse, she even looked like Maeve; just a bit, even if only the skin tone and red hair and even the hair is a bit of a stretch.

Shirez's hair was darker than Maeve's.

Even as his heart clenched at the pain he had put her and Maeve though, he felt great warmth fill him; similar to the one that had filled him when he had witnessed Firouz's choice.

Though Rongar loved his sister, the moor felt more loyalty and friendship with him and the others. He desired none of the wealth but all the adventure.

Rather than being a prince, Rongar had **CHOSEN** to stay on the Nomad as a simple sailor.

A third, partially healed over scar, healed completely.

In a flash of white light, he was once more back in the main cavern.

This time the cave's blue rocks appeared to be brighter; no longer dull at all. The rocks looked more fascinating than scary.

He wondered why but knew it had to do with the healed over scars in his heart, intuitively.

The third passage tantalized him.

With no thought whatsoever to his safety, again, he entered fearlessly into the passage.

This one was different than the others.

The other tunnels were warm and comfortable.

This one was chilly and his breath left cold mists in the air.

His steps echoed on and on forever in front of him.

His hand strayed to his sword, now it in sheath.

He thought about pulling it out, but decided not to. He hadn't been in true danger yet, and didn't want Karma or Fate to switch their favors on him.

When he reached the smaller cavern at the end of the rocky hallway, he saw the third pool.

He sat down and peered in eager to learn what was hidden and to gain more healing from it…

_It was Caipra._

_She was seated on the floor in her spell caster's circle, surrounded by yellow candles all lit up and dancing wildly in the nonexistent breeze._

_Her body was encased in a light pink glow._

_She was whispering, "DimDim, DimDim, DimDim…"_

_After a few minutes of watching this, a light green aura seemed to appear bit-by-bit and hug Caipra in a loving embrace._

_Caipra's smile said it all; DimDim had managed to cross the divide._

_Their auras swirled and clung to each other like separated lovers do, but the green aura was slowly fading to nothing._

_Caipra opened her eyes and said to herself, "So it is not yet time for DimDim to be freed. Poor Sinbad, so much pain and suffering he holds inside him and yet he is innocent of all the blame he places upon himself. Perhaps, then, he has not been swayed by evil as I had feared but has simply let his soul darken with all the guilt he bares…so much pain."_

_She closed her eyes and said lovingly into her empty room, "My son in heart, my Sinbad, be at peace, love, I forgive you."_

The image faded from the water like water drips through fingers.

Sinbad felt his whole heart burst with joy and light. His smile was glorious and full of innocent love and enjoyment of life.

The cavern shimmered in his view delightfully like all the stars in the heavens do on a crystal clear sky.

His rainbow bracelet burst into life once more causing him to cover his eyes, yet he felt invigorated not scared.

Deep within his heart, a fourth wound sealed over no longer able to cause him pain.

He vanished in a burst of rainbow light from his bracelet.

When he opened his eyes again, he was in the main cave but it was amazingly different.

Each blue light shined with an inner fire that awed and inspired him to want to be better. It was warmth that made him think of Maeve's inner fire and how she made him want to be a better man.

The cavern's dark and gloomy aura was slowly vanishing.

The cavern now looked more inviting than ever!

But still some dark corners lingered and with them the shadows that hissed in disapproval at him.

The prey had become the predator once more.

Then a golden light appeared in front of him.

When the light died down, he was surprised to see it was more like a window or a doorway than something like the smaller seeing pools he had been using.

Through it, he could see a wonderful green land and even more stunning was the person he had hoped deep within to see…

Before he could take a step closer, he looked more closely at her and grew concerned.

She was crying.

Without a care, now that she was there, he stepped through and said in an awed, whispering tone, "Maeve…"

Instantly, her bowed head shot up and her tearful brown eyes met his loving blue ones and said whispered in shock, "Sinbad…?"

End of part one

A picture of Maeve's 'soul room' can be found by looking you images of Avalon. I don't have the addess as this iste won't let me post them.

A Picture of Sinbad's 'soul room' can be found on a travelling site about New Mexico. I'm sorry I didn't get the website address, but the blue tone of the cave was my idea!


	13. Chapter 12 part 2

The Return of Maeve 12

Absolution and Understanding

Part 2

Maeve felt her heart jolt at the sound of his voice.

It sent tendrils of love so passionate and fiery deep within her heart and soul; it also caused terrible tremors to erupt all along her body as she struggled to contain the rage she felt towards him and the horrifying memories she could not stop.

She wanted to hold him; she wanted to fry him.

She wanted to kiss him and never let go; she wanted to see him burned in hell and then drowned in acid.

She was so full of conflicting emotions she barely heard deep within her mind, _Don't let the rage consume you daughter, listen to the words of your family…listen to your true hearts desires…._

"_Lies, all he speaks of are lies…just remember all those kisses…'_ whispered a loud voice full of evil and spite.

As she raised her head, she felt more tears well up in her burgundy tinted eyes. He was so handsome; dressed in clothes she had seen him in hundreds of time before.

There he was and yet she couldn't bring herself to go to him. She couldn't bare to have him touch her like they had once embraced just a year ago.

He looked nothing like the Sinbad of the past year. In fact, he looked a hundred times better now than he had in the past year. He was her Sinbad once more, yet she knew he wasn't hers at all.

Not now; perhaps he never truly was either?

She bit her lip as her rage grew and her powers leaped inside her to do her bidding.

How **DARE** he treat her so insignificantly?

How **DARE** he become her friend, treat her like a lady, a confident, and then a lover!

How **DARE** he make her fall in love with him, against her own mind's objections, and then turn around and dismiss her as if she was last week's old, moldy break rations when she was kidnapped!

He had no **RIGHT** to treat her as such and she wouldn't let him!

"Sinbad…." She growled angrily as her voice trembled in suppressed wrath.

Her eyes began to flash a terrifying golden hue, her hands began to claw, and tiny sprouts of lighting bolts began to grow like tiny flowers on her finger tips.

* * *

Deep within the chambers where she had been flung into against her will, Rumina sat down as gracefully as a cat and grinned smugly as Maeve's magic began to arch off her body and inch ever closer to Sinbad.

With every memory that flowed like an endless river inside her head, the daughter of Turok ensured her victory, once and for all, against the peasant witch and Sinbad.

"Soon, I'll have my revenge dearest…."she whispered in an almost mocking, loving, tone as she gently lapped her finger tips through the water that showed Sinbad's shocked and scared face in their depths.

* * *

Sinbad couldn't believe his eyes.

There she was.

To him, she had never looked as beautiful as she did just then. Her heart was shining magnificently through her eyes and her voice sent waves of warmth through his body.

There she was, in all her splendor. The sunlight glinting off her fiery hair and reflecting off her golden tanned skin making her look like she was softly aglow. She was as tall as he remembered and he fondly remembered their one kiss in which her inner fire filled his own body with its' magic. Her eyes were alive and filled with such love and fondness, he felt like weeping.

She had forgiven him.

She didn't blame him for his actions this past year.

As he took a step closer, the ground beneath his feet crumbled like parchment under one of Firouz's exploding bombs.

"What…?" he muttered to himself as he immediately stopped and raised his head and asked hesitantly, "Maeve…what's going on?"

His Maeve, his lovely Maeve's form shimmered and then reformed…only this time it was different.

Her hair, while still the very shade of red he loved, looked darker and dead. Her eyes were aglow with rage and anger. Her face was flushed angrily and sparking bolts of lighting at him. Her arms were crossed defensively and her lips were pursed so tightly together he couldn't see where they ended and her skin began.

Maeve snorted and yelled snarkly at him with a voice oozing fake cheer, "As if you don't know!"

Sinbad's eyebrows rose in confusion, for he had never seen her this angry at anyone, least of all him, and asked again, "Maeve, I wouldn't be asking if I did know, what's happening? Are you all right?"

He took a step forward and froze as her voice all but gutted him with its hollowness, "You are the one who did this to me, Sinbad, with every kiss and tease, and look you tore my heart and soul apart…welcome to my **personal** hell."

Sinbad's tentative steps were frozen by her pungent and bitter words. His heart seized up in his chest and his lungs refused to work as he stumbled to a stop.

He gasped and grasped his heart in pain as the agony he had pushed deep within him rose to the surface and seized control of him in ways he had feared since the beginning.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see his predators, turned prey, once again change their fortune and claw at him as his darkness swelled in glorified victory.

He collapsed to his knees and stared up at her with unseeing eyes as he too began to see all those he had kissed.

* * *

DimDim, from his own cage, which wasn't a cage so much as a very large space that hovered parallel to the world the other's inhabited and let him watch but not interact with his family, could only watch with heart breaking sorrow as the two he saw as a son and a daughter meet each other again for the first time in over a year.

He knew this would be hard on them both, for not only were both terribly stubborn, both had pains of the heart that would not let them forgive easily….

DimDim whispered into his seeing pool, _"To young to experience so much pain, to old to receive such atonement…listen to your hearts, listen to your loves, listen to your souls and most importantly, listen to each other…."_

_

* * *

_

Maeve, under Rumina's spell, simply stood there, arms crossed, and magic curving up from her body to his, and yet she did not make a move to harm him physically or magically.

Rumina's smug face frowned.

_She's fighting me…._

_

* * *

_

Maeve, from her cage inside her own mind, was raging angrily against the bars that held her captive.

Each time she tried to touch those magically restraining bars, they sent appalling jolts of blackness through her body; slowly forcing her goodness deeper and deeper within her heart and soul, yet, simultaneously, it tore deep within her soul and wrenched out all the darkness she had harbored there.

She feared what her mannequin self would do to Sinbad.

It was filled with every dark emotion she had ever felt, and she feared the devil it was turning into.

She knew her own self.

She wasn't as good as she tried to portray herself. She had to struggle daily with her anger. A skill she had yet to fully master, and even today she had problems with her emotional rages that grew from perceived slights against her or the real ones.

Sinbad had hurt her; hurt her a lot.

She feared the creature that stood before her friend even as she struggled to gain control of it and force it back into the cage.

A cage she was in.

She sighed.

She couldn't escape from this prison made in her mind.

It held her more tightly than magical cuffs do to a bound sorceress. It made her skin crawl and her power to fluctuate as it tried multiple times to release her from Rumina's hypnotic power.

And yes, she knew it was Rumina. Just as she knew it was her there raging at Sinbad….it was her and it wasn't her too.

She felt all her body felt and whilst those emotions were honest ones, they were the emotions she had felt as she watched Sinbad do those things before. She didn't necessarily feel them now; at least not to the same extent.

She was hurt that he did those things, yes, but he wasn't her lover. He wasn't even a friend with benefits kind of man. They were simply friends, very close friends, but friends nonetheless.

She tried to recall her aunts' words of wisdom as they talked about their feelings for their lovers and their _'toppings'_ whilst away from them.

First they told her of the pain. Yes, the pain was the most hurtful. It tore at their hearts ands souls and made them cry into their pillows each night.

Second, they told her of the realization. That was their turning point. The realization that the men made no serious promises to them, nor did they make them to the men. It wasn't fair to expect a man to hold true to a promise-unsaid-when they themselves didn't make a promise either.

Third, they told her how they resolved their pain with their hope of the future. They had said it wasn't easy, but once they forgave the men for _'topping'_ others, they felt a freeing sensation deep within their souls. It sent them soaring high into the metaphorical sky and filled them with such an intense light they felt invincible.

She sighed.

Could she forgive him for what he did?

Could she let go of the hatred and the pain?

She truly wanted too, but she was afraid of how she would react to the missing pieces of her soul. The rage had claimed a large part of her, and she didn't know if she had enough goodness left inside her to be his friend after all this…

She wasn't sure she could or would trust him with her heart again, but she didn't want him to die…

She wanted to talk to him, perhaps become his friend again; if she could let him get that close to her again…

Then, for the first time since this started, she could hear her master's voice, _"To young to experience so much pain, to old to receive such atonement…listen to your hearts, listen to your loves, listen to your souls and most importantly, listen to each other…."_

"DimDim…"she whispered to herself and felt a swell of love and adoration for her old mentor surface to the top of her emotions and knew then and there that she wasn't truly dark…just lost in the sea of pain.

* * *

Caipra, who was now drenched in sweat, gasped in pain. The terrible weight of unbalance hit her like a canon to the gut.

Her eyes widened and her body arched off the tiny couch she was laying on and cried out, "Maeve….Sinbad….don't give up…"

* * *

"_Maeve….Sinbad….don't give up…"_

She began to smile and as she body began to softly shimmer a soft golden hue, she said to herself in a committed promise, "I won't let her kill you Sinbad…I won't let you go…I forgive you."

As her glowing body grew even more powerful and more intense, she shouted out as loudly as she could, **"I FORGIVE YOU, YOU IDIOTIC SEA-SLUG!"**

As she said this, her body exploded with yellowish-blue light that filled her with a passionately, strong, extremely comforting warmth.

The bars melted.

She was free!

* * *

Sinbad, as Gianna, Empress Hitria, Dara, Taryn, Denna and Bryn flashed through his mind, sank to his knees and cried. He remembered each kiss as they expressed something so different about each one of them that was so basically human about them all.

He cried because he knew he had hurt himself.

He cried because he knew he had led them on and perhaps hurt them too.

He cried because he knew, ultimately, he had hurt Maeve, and that was something he truly despised.

If he could, he'd turn back time and make sure he never did those things…ever. It just wasn't worth it to go through this much pain for so little reward.

Gianna's was of a hidden strength that he knew she would need as the Guardian of the Book of Before. It set his body aflame, but held it back as if she had something to prove to the world…the world of men; him included.

He gasped in pain as a cut, the size of a dirk's width with the depth of an arrowhead, to his arm appeared. He watched with dazed eyes as the blood welled to the surface of his skin and fell in tiny droplets to the cracked, dry, slowly desolate world he was in.

He watched as the skies turned a violent gray-black. The clouds churned and rolled making even his experienced eyes and brain dizzy with the strength in its wispy coils.

The mountains seemed to shudder and rumble deep within like they had a terrible fate to send him to as well for his infidelity.

The emerald trees and grass dried out and disintegrated under the gentlest of touches. It made him feel like crumbling to ashes himself.

The waterfalls, so beautiful, so powerful, slowed to a trickle. He heard the rocks as they tumbled down the steep cliffs and began to melt into one another as the water steamed and fizzled out as fires grew along the edges of the river beds the waterfalls fell from.

He was almost too scared to see Maeve now.

Almost.

Maeve's appearance suddenly changed in his eyes. Her lovely read hair turned pitch black and her eyes began to glow an eerie red.

Empress Hitria's kiss showed just how rotten, spoilt, and commanding she really was; he didn't enjoy it much at all. She had taken his power of choice and he had rebelled mightily against that even if it wasn't readily shown. He felt neither attraction nor flames with her kiss

Another cut, smaller in size but deeper in depth than the one before, appeared on his right leg. The shocking pain of it caused him to grab his thigh in pain and stare unseeingly at it, for it wasn't it he was seeing.

Then Maeve's face turned bitter and a scowl grew on her red lips turning them a pale pink that seemed to suck the life out of her.

Dara's kiss had held thankfulness and a hint of sadness in it, for she had been in the process of mourning the loss of her friend, the prince. But there was a strange flame inside him all the same. As if there was a piece of him wanting to claim something for the, in the end, good deed he had done for no other reason than it was the right thing to do.

Oh sure, he had done those type of things before, but this one felt more…more…as it directly affected the life and livelihood of both Dara and the kingdom she served.

Another cut appeared on his opposite leg. This one just as big and deep as the other, but strangely, he felt no pain. It was like his soul was punishing him for his faithlessness, but at the same time rewarding him for the goodness of the actions that led to the kiss.

Maeve's face grew ugly and wrinkles began to form along her eyes and mouth; as if she had aged two decades in as many seconds right before his eyes.

His heart lurched at the sight.

Not only for the fear and pain of seeing her…seeing her dying right before his eyes, but because she looked so defeated so non-angelic that he almost wished for the past kisses to return to him just so he could see what she looked like before this one.

His kisses and fickle emotions had done this to her. How could he fix her? How could he fix himself?

He gasped as her face turned towards him and her voice said in a hollow tone, "Why, why have you betrayed me Sinbad? You promised to find me, yet you travelled port to port and made no effort to find me. Instead you sat there and dallied with the local wenches!"

"No! I tried, really I did!" he protested but it was of little use.

His beautiful Maeve, his lover and soul, was turning against him and he couldn't blame her.

Slowly, his predators began to claw at his clothes and run their sharp fingers through his hair….

He shivered as his darkness grew….

Taryn's kiss was probably the only kiss that which meant nothing to him. It was simply a kiss of lust and nothing more, but still his flesh was carved and as he fell from the pain of his other arm he watched Maeve's fingernails grow into spotted acid green each one dripping with poison ready to slash at him at a moments notice.

Denna.

She was a woman he had loved once, a long time ago. She had been a lover after Lea and before Talya. He had felt deeply for her and was deeply hurt by the fact that he had left her with no notice in Basra years ago.

Her kiss was heartbreaking and yet loving all at the same time.

He cried out as a wound, a slash to his chest, appeared under his clothes. It bled the hardest and deepest.

He had felt great passion in that kiss, and if not of his souls' deepest devotion to Maeve, he could possibly see a future with Denna.

Horrified by the truth of his thoughts, he glance up at Maeve; deeply afraid of what she now looked like. Her toned skin, normally warm under the sun, was chalk white and leathery. Slowly along her limbs a greenish tint formed from her torso to her hands and feet.

"Maeve…" he whispered in excruciating pain.

He had done this to her….

Bryn's kiss, well, it held passion, but it lacked the personal experiences of her life. Not that she was a bad kisser, no, but it did lack a certain accent that one can only gain through life experiences…like a person's attitude, a person's walk, a person's mindset, and a person's vocal accent.

* * *

Rumina giggled in fierce glee as her waved her hand over the pool and manipulated her voice to sound like Maeve's as she whispered in pain, "Sinbad….how could you?"

* * *

"_Sinbad, how could you?"_

Then the tears began to fall even more heavily than before as Shirez found her way into his memory like a snake slithering its way into a bed. He remembered that night with such clarity that he blinked at it in confusion.

Maeve's visage, his lovely sorceress, paled and grew. Her face grew elongated and fangs grew out of her top lip. Her skin took on an even deeper acid, greenish hue and wing sprang out of her back in a terrible spray of blood and flesh that seared his eyes and burned his face.

His fears were true…his actions against her had turned her into a devil…..into one of Scratch's evil Harpies.

His attention waivered from her, he couldn't stand to see her like this, a devil of his own making….

The images of him and Shirez lying in his cabin, tumbling through the sheets, loud moans hit his ears as loudly now as they did then, hit him hard and fast and with amazing clarity and sharpness.

Never had he remembered anything with such lucidity before!

It caused him to marvel at the vivid colors and the stark differences of her skin to the dark colors of his bed sheets.

His brows furrowed.

Something wasn't right.

* * *

Caipra sighed as the weight lifted off her just a bit and said to herself, "That's it…just keep holding on…"

* * *

Sinbad, as the memory flew through his memory, stared at it curiously. He had never remembered things so clearly like this before.

Sure, he could recall adventures with amazing detail, those were engraved in his spirit and soul for those were when he felt really alive, but this experience with Shirez wasn't what he'd call a memorable experience.

She was a lovely bed partner, to be sure, but his heart and soul simply wasn't in it for the memories. His flesh desired hers' and claimed her; but his heart and soul revolted. He shouldn't be able to remember this so well…

Then he heard DimDim's voice, _"To young to experience so much pain, to old to receive such atonement…listen to your hearts, listen to your loves, listen to your souls and most importantly, listen to each other…."_

His brows furrowed, now he knew something was off. DimDim wasn't in this memory at all, and yet his mind was hearing his old mentor's voice with amazing sharpness.

He glanced around him nervously; the shadows, his predators were swarming around him whispering in his ear with dark intent, _**"Let go of her, let her go…she doesn't deserve your love for the sins against her are many…she deserves a man who loves her with a fierce loyalty and you've shown none…let her go….let her be happy…."**_

The faith and hope he had felt with each previously healed scar was fading and the waves of warmth and love he had felt upon seeing Maeve was churning ugly inside his stomach.

They were right.

He didn't deserve her love.

He wasn't the man she had thought him to be. If he had been truly the man she thought he was, he wouldn't have given up hope and fallen for the temptations of the willing females and their supple flesh.

He should let her go; let her go to find and love a man who would truly love her as she deserved to be. To find a man who could love her with his whole being; a man who wasn't scarred or marked by sin.

As he took a step back, to return through the golden portal that was still open behind him, a rainbow light shined brilliantly from his bracelet causing him to stumble in surprise.

Then he heard Caipra's voice.

Her voice rolled over his aching soul; a balm he desperately needed, _"Maeve….Sinbad….don't give up…"_

He suddenly remembered where he was and what he was meant to do.

He was here to help save Maeve.

He was here to save her from the terrible fate Turok's spell had dumped her into.

He couldn't let his uncertainties cause him to fail!

If he failed, Maeve died!

He couldn't, no he **WOULDN'T** let her down!

Then Caipra's voice was heard again deep within him, giving him even more hope, even more strength, _"That's it…just keep holding on…"_

With a slow, deliberately, deep breath, he took a step closer to the harpy-Maeve, wincing at the sight for it recalled the memory of Scratch's attempt to claim his soul when he used Maeve's image to drag him into yet another devilish trap, and glanced down at his bracelet.

The rainbow bracelet's glow was slowly growing more and more powerful. The light grew so prevailingly bright. It began to shine on him like an extra wall of light to protect him from the shadows all around him.

His demons shrieked in pain and retreated back into the shadows. His gaze turned to Maeve's demon face, and he faltered just a bit. Those eyes, those terrible red eyes seared him with a darkness and blood-thirsty glaze. He shuddered, but took another step closer.

The dry caked earth crumbled beneath his booted feet and he closed his eyes in fear of falling to his death in this place, but his desire to reach Maeve's unmovable, statuesque figure kept him going.

A bit of hope began to grow in his heart at that.

She was obviously angry as all hell at him, but she must have some goodness still within to not kill him on sight.

Those arching lightning bolts caused him to pause, just for an instant, but it was enough for his wall of rainbow light to flare in its attempt to keep those powerful magics away from him.

Finally, he reached her.

Only a step, a simple foot of space, was between them.

She hadn't made a move to hurt him nor stop him.

He eyed her closely in confusion.

Why wasn't she doing anything?

Then his bracelet flared again; he saw what he hadn't seen before.

She was covered in bloody red dust.

Her eyes were glazed over; not in memory but like she was under a spell.

His eyes widened.

He **finally** understood!

She was being controlled!

He looked at his bracelet again. Its' light shined and seemed to him like it was agreeing with his analysis of his beloved sorceress, and grew even brighter.

Then he heard the most marvelous, the most wonderful, the most loving words he had ever heard, _**"I FORGIVE YOU, YOU IDIOTIC SEA-SLUG!"**_

Maeve's body was enveloped in a beautiful, warming, golden glow that burned the ugly red powder off her body in an instant.

His demons roared in agony it the golden light and his own bracelet's glow exploded all around them and burned them to metaphysical ashes.

The hellish world they were in was healed and turned into luscious, greenery once again.

He watched as the sky calmed and the mountains silenced themselves. He glanced up at the sky and sighed relief as he gorged on the cool, misty breezes and the cool, damp air that ran their fingers through his golden brown hair.

He breathed in deeply; relishing the effect that the magically enhanced atmosphere had on his tense and fearful body and world-weary soul.

The sky was blue with puffs of white clouds floating serenely across the blue hues. Some of the lower clouds where darker grey; hinting to possible rain later on. Those types of clouds he lived for.

Where they stood, he could see the forests of Maeve's homeland; the evergreens: the Honey Yew and the Ivy trees where just as beautiful as she had told him. They were so beautiful; it made him want to travel to Albion just to see their marvelous green shades.

There, from his peripheral vision, were the mountains; they loomed high above them in the distance. Their white peaks disappeared into the clouds' bellies.

Looking down into the ravine, he smiled the pinkish-white marble of the building down below was glittering lively in the lovely sunlight.

He tensed as Maeve walked up to him, placed her hand on his shoulder, and said, "I forgive you."

He spun around and met her soft brown orbs with his own sea blue ones.

He bit his lip, raised his hand and tentatively raised it to her face. When she made no move to stop him, but instead took a small step closer, he smiled at her and lovingly ran his knuckles down her cheek.

His heartbeat began to grow erratic as she sighed and leaned into his touch and raised her own hand to cover his own.

Then their eyes met and as if drawn together by something more powerful than either black, neutral, or white magic could conjure, their arms wrapped around one another and their lips met in a kiss even more powerful than the one before.

* * *

Maeve, who was staring at her captain and friend with more warmth in her heart than she had ever expected to feel, watched as he smiled happily up and around at her mental world.

She was happy, no ecstatic, to see that her pathway down into the ravine, down into the Temple of Avalon, was returned to its rightful place and took a step closer to it and Sinbad.

As she reached the edge of the ravine, she placed her hand on his shoulder and watched sympathetically as his body tensed under her familiar touch.

She wanted to be angry, not for what he had done, but because the anger had been such a large part of her life it felt strange to be without the red hot flames in the deepest, darkest part of her soul.

Now all she felt was the warmth of the flames like the warmth, the life given by a tenderly nurtured campfire.

As he turned to her, she said lovingly, "I forgive you."

His hand slowly rose to her cheek.

She wanted to take a step back, but her heart froze her brain's orders. Her heart wanted his touch and would no longer listen to her brain's words on this topic: Sinbad and his touch.

She took a step closer instead.

They had been separated for far too long.

She breathed in deeply as his knuckles gently caressed her cheek and her hand, on its own violation, rose and trapped it in place there.

His eyes, so blue and loving, so blue and remorseful, met her own and then the pull to kiss him was too much.

As their lips touched, the world around them blurred together in a wash of colors that neither paid attention too.

Unseen by them, their bodies were surrounded by a beautiful golden light that encompassed the entire room they were in and in a flash they were gone.

* * *

Rumina, screamed in impotent anger as the golden light, burned her eyes and flesh with its warmth and love.

She cried out in pain as her flesh began to burn and bubble at its intensity.

As the kiss grew, so did the light, and with a flash, they were gone from her sight and she felt her body being lifted up, involuntarily on her part, and flung head first into the stone walls around her.

The last thing she saw was the entire room being flooded by the golden light and destroying all the seeing pools and manipulating powders.

* * *

Turok and Scratch watched helplessly as the two kissed and the last remnants of the sorcerer's plans burned up in the golden light of the pair's love.

Scratch smirked despite himself, and said snarkly to his newest minion, "Looks like your plan failed, Turok."

Turok spun around and snarled at him, "Don't you think I don't know that!"

The devil laughed and said, "And now, we can't even use their darkness against them! You have given them the means to heal and grow even **closer **together!"

Turok roared and sent his clawed hand out towards the devil. The black lightning slammed into the devil, but just like before nothing happened to him.

Scratch yawned and ordered, "I'll call you when I have need of you Turok, don't go anywhere…I'll find you, **minion**."

Turok growled as the demon vanished in a ball of fire.

He spun back to the seeing pool, sagged in exhaustion, and glowered darkly at the pair of unsuspecting lovers.

"I **WILL** have my revenge, Sinbad, I **WILL**!" vowed the dark sorcerer.

As he made to move away from the seeing pool, the golden light burst out of the pool and slammed into him. He cried out as the powerful light surged through his body like an ocean's typhoon surged across the seas and collapsed in agony.

Tremors rolled through his body and caused his body to arch off the ground in terrible pain.

As the warmth reached his blackened heart, the pain grew to unimaginable torture. He could feel his very flesh burning from the inside out. He screamed as the light burst out of him through his eyes and mouth like sunbeams.

He knew no more.

* * *

DimDim, from his cage, smiled as his children succeeded and said softly, "You did well, children, you did well…"

* * *

Caipra, from her place on the bed, sighed and felt her body release all the tension it had accumulated though this harrowing time.

Doubar, who was by her side, looked down at her anxiously as she said soothingly, "They did it, they succeeded."

With wide smiles, the crew spun to the circle Sinbad was resting in, and watched as the white candles began to burn even brighter and grow from an inch of flames to six feet tall.

Surprised, they stumbled back.

Instinctively, they all reached for their swords.

All but Bryn.

Instead, she ordered, "Lower your swords, it's Sinbad and Maeve, they are being transported here."

Doubar demanded as the flames, now six feet tall and widening to two feet long, made a complete circle of fire, "What are you talking about?"

Rongar and Firouz eyed the circle warily as Caipra, tiredly rose to a seated position, and explained for Bryn's eyes were unfocused but focused on the power being used, "The magic that sent you all to your tests, is happily, transporting Sinbad and Maeve here."

Doubar smiled and lowered his sword, "So they are coming here?"

Before Caipra could answer, Bryn said with clearing eyes, "They are here."

The circle of white candles, gave off a final flare of extremely potent power, and then vanished with out a trace of there ever being any candles there; leaving behind two people locked in a passionate embrace.

Doubar cried out happily, "Sinbad, Maeve!"

Soon to come, The Epilogue


	14. Chapter 13

The Return of Maeve 13

Epilogue

The chamber's walls were now a shimmering hodgepodge of browns, reds, yellows, and blacks. The once twinkling seeing bowls were now scattered every which way and broken into so many tiny pieces that it'd take an extremely direct spell to put them back together. The once highly decorative curtains, giving the illusion of passageways and windows, were lying on the ground. The ripped pieces, coated in multi-colored dust, still connected to the ceiling, easily a witness to the powerful magic that had overwhelmed the sole occupant lying in a crumpled heap at the base of the wall.

The occupant wasn't in good shape at all.

The once luscious dark brown hair, elegantly brushed and pulled into precious jewels was dull, haphazardly thrown about, and smoldering with tiny embers of fire and light.

The skin of this occupant was once clear and smooth; now it was blackened and crispy as if a tiny touch could cause it to collapse into a black mist.

The clothes reveal it to be a woman; what was left of it in any case. The red silks and glistening translucent cloths were burnt to blacked twigs and wrapped around the thin body. The cloths that were left behind were nothing more than bits and pieces here and there across her body.

And yet, even as the body of the dead woman laid there, her finger, thin and boney now, were twitching just so…

As the brilliant white light dispersed around the kissing couple, Bryn, who was slightly uncomfortable with the fact that Sinbad was kissing yet again, another woman, turned and felt her mouth drop open.

On the chair's head rest was Dermott and he was glowing a dark yellow.

"Dermott!" she yelled in fear for she had never seen her feathered friend enveloped so.

In shock and fear, for her tone wasn't what they wanted to hear after such a great success against the dark, the crew spun on their heels.

Their mouths dropped too.

For right before their eyes, the dark yellow glow winked out in a blast of harmless energy; what was left behind was a person, a man, they had never seen before.

There before them was a tall, thin yet athletically built man, with sleek, straight black hair with a few braids here and there to strategically keep the long locks out of his face.

He had dark skin, darker than Sinbad's but lighter by a fair few hues to Rongar's, smooth and soft despite his rugged appearance.

His gray eyes were animated by their reactions it seemed and he possessed strong facial features with a tattoo on each cheek.

Covering his body was richly pristine and wealthy but durable clothes. Over his heart cut into four pieces was a shield. The upper left quadrant was painted a dark purple, nearly black color. The upper right was bronze. The lower left was bronze and the lower right was a dark purplish-black. In the center of the shield was a golden panther with its claws extended and its sharp, purple eyes piercing ahead of it. Behind the panther was a bow and arrow both bronze in color. Around the bronze shield was a golden one that they knew nothing about.

Just seeing this man made Bryn's heart clench in both pain and happiness.

_Did I know him?_ She asked herself as the man rose from his perch and said calmly, "My name is Dermott."

He gave a tiny grin through his braided black hair and added, "It's good to see you all through human eyes."

Doubar took a step forward, unconsciously placing his hand over his cutlass, and demanded, "Who are you? Dermott is a hawk not a man!"

Maeve was in heaven; was in Avalon's heart. It was the only explanation to the joyous emotions welling up inside her very heart and soul.

She felt warmth…

She felt belonging…

…family…

…comfort…

…and most important of all, love.

As she pulled back from the kiss, to regain a bit of breath, her chest heaving in its exertions to survive with what she was reluctantly giving it, she heard Doubar's demands.

Dazedly, for Sinbad could still make her weak at the knees, she turned a bit in his arms, and looked at who Doubar was yelling at.

_Ah, it's Dermott_ she thought. It didn't seem important enough to her that Doubar was yelling at him though.

_He was only human after all…_

Her throat closed up around her in amazement as she looked again.

Yes, yes, he was human.

She took a step out of Sinbad's arms, the way he gripped her, told her he wasn't to happy about that, and called out hesitantly, "Dermott?"

The tall man, so much like their father, turned to her with a tiny smile and said simply, "You did it sister; you killed Rumina."

She shrieked in happiness as she rushed into his arms and cried out, "DERMOTT!"

Sinbad couldn't describe the purity of his emotions with her in his arms. It was like everything and nothing all at once. He felt every living cell in his body beat solely for her, but with each beat it stole a little more life and killed him that much more.

He loved it; for each time he died he was born again with each new beat.

With each beat of his heart, his scarred and hidden heart, grew and grew until it encompassed his entire being.

Until it encompassed his Maeve; his beautiful Maeve.

His sole reason for living.

He didn't want to let her go.

As their kiss came to an end, for her chest was heaving with the exertions of keeping breath in her lungs, he felt her being to pull away.

He just got her back!

She can't leave!

But like all flames, if you squeeze it to tight, it'll die out, but if you give it a little breathing room, it'll flourish.

He let her go.

He let her go to a man's arms he had never seen before.

Just as he felt his heart being to break at their hug, the man's words hit him like an anchor to the sea's floor.

"_**You did it sister; you killed Rumina." **_

_This man was Maeve's brother? What was he doing here?_

Before he could ask or say anything, Maeve pulled away from him, grabbed the black haired man's hand, turned to them all and announced, "Sinbad, Doubar, guys, this is my older brother, Dermott. Rumina turned him into a hawk years ago. To get him back I travelled all over to find a magician strong enough to break the spell, and I found DimDim. He tried; he really did, but told me only I would be able to break the spell with the death of Rumina."

Sinbad caught on at once, "Rumina did this with the other two. You must have killed her when you burst free of her control Maeve."

Maeve smiled at him with her loveliest of smiles, one he had never seen before actually, and corrected, "Ah no, when **we**, Sinbad, kissed and brought ourselves here we broke the curse and killed Rumina."

She let Dermott's hand go, walked back to his side, wrapped her arms around him and said lovingly as they hugged, "Thank you, you saved me Sinbad, you saved me."

He didn't want to let her go.

In truth, she had saved him not the other way around.

Once the hug was over, he didn't want it to be, it made him feel as if he could battle Scratch himself again and again, she turned to the crew and said with a grin and arms wide open, "Guys, don't I get a hug?"

Doubar, Firouz, and Rongar couldn't get there fast enough it seemed to him. He chuckled as the three men ganged up on the red haired Amazonian woman of his heart; and she took it all with a beautiful smile on her face.

As she was being smothered by the three men, Dermott came to Bryn's side, who had been staring in disbelief at him the entire time, and said to her cheekily, though Bryn had a feeling this wasn't in the norm for him, "Don't worry, I didn't watch you getting dressed you know. I always looked away."

Bryn gave him a smart look mixed with anger, for him figuring her out, and said pointedly, "I know you, don't I."

Dermott raised an eyebrow at that and she retorted, "And I don't mean as a hawk. I know you as a human too, don't I?"

He smiled and nodded but said, "We'll talk about it later with Maeve on the Nomad, eh?"

She wanted to say, **NO now!**, but he continued, "That way the spell on us three will be removed and none of us will be punished for breaking the terms of our oaths."

She furrowed her brows at that, _breaking our oaths? Just what __**HAVE**__ I been in before I lost my memories?_

Once everyone had their fill of Maeve, they turned back to the exhausted Caipra. She was smiling sleepily up at them and raised her arms weakly.

Sinbad and Maeve knelt by her side; Doubar and the rest of the crew were behind them watching anxiously. Each worried about the old woman in their own way.

"Is there anything we can do Caipra?" asked Maeve gently as she ran her fingers across the wrinkled brow.

The old woman, whose burdens had wondrously transformed into miracles, grinned lightly up at them and said, "No, I'll sleep for a few days and then I'll be fine. You all need to go, though; you're next adventure awaits you."

Sinbad pursed his lips; he didn't like the thought of leaving Caipra so weakened and all alone.

Maeve elbowed him and asked, "What adventures Caipra?"

She gave them another sleepy smile and answered as her eyes closed, "The return of Bryn's memory, of course dear."

As she said this, her door burst open and a light wind began to gently push them in that direction.

Firouz, who had eyed the old woman with a physician's eye, said, "She'll be fine after a few days of rest and good food."

Doubar snorted and added as the wind gave another gentle yet insistent push, "Not that it matters, we're not exactly wanted right now!"

The Nomad had never looked so good to Maeve; the feel of the seas' breeze, the sounds of the port of call, the seagulls calling to one another, the merchants trying to sell their wares.

It was beautiful to her.

Once on board her home, Bryn marched up to her and Dermott and demanded, "Tell me what you know about me!"

Dermott raised a hand and said, "You'll have to say this then… _**'I, Princess Brenna Pendragon, daughter of Arthur Pendragon, King of Albion, King of Britannia, hereby release Lord Dermott and Lady Maevelynn Paldor of the House of Paldor from their Oaths of secrecy.'**_"

Bryn blinked at those words, but a surprising note of harmony deep within her acknowledge them as right.

She took a deep breath and intoned in a serious tone of voice for she knew this was exactly what she was looking or, _**"I, Princess Brenna Pendragon, daughter of Arthur Pendragon, King of Albion, King of Britannia, hereby release Lord Dermott and Lady Maevelynn Paldor of the House of Paldor from their Oaths of secrecy."**_

With those words Dermott and Maeve began to glow with an inner golden light.

Dermott took a deep breath and intoned, _**"I, Lord Dermott Paldor, son of Tristran Paldor, Lord of Albion, Lord of Britannia, hereby release Princess Brenna Pendragon of the House of Pendragon and Lady Maevelynn Paldor of the House of Paldor from their Oaths of secrecy."**_

With those words Maeve's light grew stronger and Bryn began to glow too.

The Nomad crew was eyeing them with open curiosity. None of them could believe the words they were hearing. If they understood it correctly, and they had **ALL** been in enough royal situations before to understand palace intrigue, Dermott, Bryn and Maeve were of royal lines?

_**"I, Lady Maevelynn Paldor, daughter of Tristran Paldor, Lord of Albion, Lord of Britannia, hereby releases Princess Brenna Pendragon of the House of Pendragon and Lord Dermott Paldor of the House of Paldor from their Oaths of secrecy!"**_

With those words the lights that were surrounding all three vanished as quickly as the eye could blink.

Maeve turned to Bryn and said bluntly, "We are your second cousins through your father and our mother."

Bryn blinked and looked at her body in amazement. That had been a huge blast of magic and yet she didn't feel the strain of using that magic.

Dermott answered her, "It wasn't your magic blocking you or us; it was our cousin's your aunt's. She had us bound before we left Britain to keep us safe and to protect us from those who would try to use us as ransom against our family."

Doubar butted in, "What's that mean?"

Maeve placed a gentle hand on Sinbad's arm and said as she looked at Doubar, "When Rumina turned Dermott into a hawk our mothers and other Priestesses tried with all their power to turn him back. Unfortunately, Rumina used both Easter and Western magics to fight me, and when I was down Dermott jumped into the spell Rumina launched at me. The mixed magic was too much for any of us, so it was decided that I'd travel east and find a Master to train under. Bryn, who didn't want to stay home waiting for word of Dermott, wanted to go too. Our families made us swear a magical oath not to reveal who we truly were until there were two of us available to release the third from their secret."

Firouz piped in, "Which is what just happened, right?"

Dermott nodded and said, "And now we need to go home."

Sinbad raised an eyebrow and Dermott amended, "Britain, it's the only way to get Bryn's memory back."

The chamber was large and charred with hundreds of light bursts that splashed harmlessly against the geological material.

The male body on the floor though wasn't so lucky.

It was mutated beyond repair and looked to the demon as he flashed in with a burst of hellfire like a puddle of goo.

With a snap of with his fingers and another flash of hellfire another body, more feminine, appeared before the sea fearing demon.

The demon growled out with finger curled into a sadistic claw, _**"Oh Dark One, Morkoth,**_

_**Thee who I giv-ith this sacrifice.**_

_**Pain and Blood indentify,**_

_**Negative energy where it lies.**_

_**Soil thou body tress to toe,**_

_**As I will it, make it so!"**_

He crackles evilly as the hellfire roars from his claws and envelops them both. What little sentience survived inside their bodies screamed in the depths of their souls as their remains burned to nothing.

When the fire burned out, two tiny, dark, floating orbs of dark green and dark yellow light flew into his hands.

The green light (Turok) flashed angrily up at him.

Scratch laughed some more and said gleefully, "I got two souls after all!"

The dark yellow light (Rumina) fluttered flirtingly about his hairy hand causing delightful shivers up and down his arm.

"Hmmm…you have a deal little witch." He agreed with a husky tone of voice that caused the green light to shiver with revulsion.

Scratch waved his hand down at Turok and watched him disappear into the depths of the earth.

He waved his hand again and the dark yellow orb exploded and Scratch disappeared with an advantageous laugh.

When the explosions settled down, Rumina, with a superior gleam in her eyes and arrogance in her stance vowed, "I **WILL** have my revenge!"

She waved her hand and conjured a mirror.

What she saw had her glaring hellfire and surrounding herself with an aura of hellfire too.

She had raven black hair that fell fetchingly down her back. Around her forehead was a golden tiara with a red hellfire orb dangling between her eyes.

Her skin was dry and scaly like snakes. Her eyes are slit down the middle and her teeth like claws.

She was wearing a tiny shirt that fell just under her improved chest and a tight pair of silken pants that cuffed her ankles and hugged her bigger waist. It too was hellfire red.

She screamed, _**"SCRATCH! I'LL HAVE MY REVENGE!"**_


End file.
